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5 learning An Introduction to Learning An Introduction to Learning What Is Learning? Classical Conditioning Pavlov’s Basic Research Plan Time for Some Terms Nuts and Bolts of Classical Conditioning From Dogs to Triathletes: Extending Pavlov Yuck: Conditioned Taste Aversion Little Albert and Conditioned Emotional Response Classical Conditioning: Do You Buy It? Operant Conditioning The Shaping of Behavior Common Features of Operant and Classical Conditioning Types of Reinforcement The Power of Partial Reinforcement Timing Is Everything: Reinforcement Schedules The Trouble with Punishment Classical and Operant Conditioning: What’s the Difference? Observational Learning and Cognition The Power of Observational Learning Latent Learning a t h l e t e ATHLETES IN THE MAKING Palo Alto, California: It was the spring of 1999, and Ivonne Mosquera was about to graduate from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. Math majors typically spend a lot of time manipulating numbers on paper, graphing functions, and trying to understand spatial relationships—all activities that draw on their sense of vision. But Ivonne had no memory of seeing an equation, a number, or even a piece of paper. She had been blind since the age of 2, when doctors removed both of her eyes to arrest the spread of an aggressive cancer. Blindness never stopped Ivonne from doing much of anything. Growing up in New York City, she used to ride her bicycle across the George Washington Bridge as her father ran alongside. She went to school with sighted kids, climbed trees in the park, and studied ballet, tap, and jazz dance (Boccella, 2012, May 6; iminmotion.net, n.d., para. 3). She tried downhill skiing, hiking, and rock climbing. Now Ivonne was graduating from college with a degree in one of the most rigorous academic disciplines, a great accomplishment indeed. Yet there were bigger things to come for Ivonne. In the next decade, she would become a world-class runner and triathlete. Meanwhile, just a few miles from the Stanford campus, a 10-year-old boy named Jeremy Lin was finishing fifth grade and working on his basketball game. In the evenings, Jeremy and his brothers would go with their father to the nearby YMCA to run drills and shoot hoops late into the night (Dalrymple, 2012). It was during this period that Jeremy’s future high school coach, Peter Diepenbrock, first caught a glimpse of the scrappy young player. “He was very small,” Coach Diepenbrock recalls, “but [had] just an incredible, incredible amount of confidence.” Jeremy knew exactly how to play and was determined to do so, regardless of his size. Even so, no one could have predicted the “Linsanity” he would be capable of inspiring across the globe. At first glance, Ivonne Mosquera (now Ivonne Mosquera-Schmidt) and Jeremy Lin don’t seem to have much in common. But as you read their stories, you will see how their relentless determination, work ethic, and optimism led to their athletic achievements—Ivonne as a runner and triathlete and Jeremy as a basketball player. You will also see how learning changed their lives and paved the way for their success. World Champion Ivonne Mosquera-Schmidt runs in the Capital of Texas Triathlon on May 28, 2012. Blind since the age of 2, Ivonne has always been extremely active. She has danced across the stage of New York City’s Lincoln Center, climbed Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro, and competed in over 25 triathlons. Brightroom.com He’s Got Game Playing for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2014/2015 NBA season, Jeremy Lin races past Ryan Hollins of the Sacramento Kings. Jeremy’s basketball accomplishments are the result of talent, motivation, and extensive learning. © Michael Goulding/The Orange County Register/ZUMA Wire Zoonar/P Gudella/Agefotostock; Thinkstock Note: Quotations attributed to Ivonne Mosquera-Schmidt and Peter Diepenbrock are personal communications. 173 AN INTRODUCTION TO LEARNING LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading this chapter, you should be able to: LO 1 Define learning. LO 9 LO 2 Explain what Pavlov’s studies teach us about classical conditioning. LO 3 Identify the differences between the US, UR, CS, and CR. LO 10 Distinguish between primary and secondary reinforcers. LO 11 Describe continuous reinforcement LO 4 Recognize and give examples of stimulus generalization and stimulus discrimination. LO 5 Summarize how classical conditioning is dependent on the biology of the organism. LO 6 Describe the Little Albert study and explain how fear can be learned. LO 7 Describe Thorndike’s law of effect. LO 8 Explain shaping and the method of successive approximations. Ivonne, In Her Own Words http://qrs.ly/373m610 CONNECTIONS In Chapter 2, we described circumstances in which learning influences the brain and vice versa. For example, dopamine plays an important role in learning through reinforcement, attention, and regulating body movements. Neurogenesis (the generation of new neurons) is also thought to be associated with learning. In Chapter 3, we discussed sensory adaptation, which is the tendency to become less aware of constant stimuli. Becoming habituated to sensory input keeps us alert to changes in the environment. learning A relatively enduring change in behavior or thinking that results from experiences. habituation (hah-bi-chü-ā-shən) A basic form of learning evident when an organism does not respond as strongly or as often to an event following multiple exposures to it. stimulus An event or occurrence that generally leads to a response. Identify the differences between positive and negative reinforcement. and partial reinforcement. LO 12 Name the schedules of reinforcement and give examples of each. LO 13 Explain how punishment differs from negative reinforcement. LO 14 Summarize what Bandura’s classic Bobo doll study teaches us about learning. LO 15 Describe latent learning and explain how cognition is involved in learning. What Is Learning? LO 1 Define learning. Psychologists define learning as a relatively enduring change in behavior or thinking that results from our experiences. Studies suggest that learning can begin before we are even born—prior to birth, a baby has already begun to single out the sound of his mother’s voice (Kisilevsky et al., 2008). And learning may continue until our dying day. But even though learning leads to changes in the brain, including alterations to individual neurons as well as their networks, these modifications of behavior and thinking are not always permanent. The ability to learn is not unique to humans. Trout can learn to press a pendulum to get food (Yue, Duncan, & Moccia, 2008); orangutans can pick up whistling (Wich et al., 2009); and even honeybees can be trained to differentiate among photos of human faces (Dyer, Neumeyer, & Chittka, 2005). One of the most basic forms of learning occurs during the process of habituation (hah-bi-chü-ā-shən), which is evident when an organism does not respond as strongly or as often to an event following multiple exposures to its occurrence. This type of learning is apparent in a wide range of living beings, from humans to sea slugs (Chapter 6). An animal might initially respond to a stimulus, which is an event that generally leads to a response, but with repeated exposures, the stimulus is increasingly ignored and habituation occurs. Essentially, an organism learns about a stimulus but begins to ignore it as it is repeated. Animals Learn to Help Army Specialist Antonio Ingram gets a kiss from Emma, one of the therapy dogs that works with soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas (Flaherty, 2011, October 29). Therapy animals like Emma help ease the stress of wounded veterans, abused children, cancer patients, and others suffering from psychological distress (American Humane Association, 2013). The dogs are trained using the principles of learning. AP Photo/ Researchers have studied learning using a variety of animals. The history of psychology is full of stories about scientists who began studying animal biology but then switched their focus to animal behavior as unexpected events unfolded in the laboratory. These scientists were often excited to find the connections between biology and experience that became evident as they explored the principles of learning. Animals are often excellent models for studying and understanding human behavior. Conducting animal research sidesteps many of the ethical dilemmas that arise with human research. It’s generally considered okay to keep rats, cats, and birds in cages to ensure control over experimental variables (as long as they are otherwise treated humanely), but locking up people in laboratories would obviously be unacceptable. This chapter focuses on three major types of learning: classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning. As you make your way through these pages, you will begin to realize that learning is very much about creating associations. Through classical conditioning, we associate two different stimuli: for example, the sound of a bell and the arrival of food. In operant conditioning, we make connections between our behaviors and their consequences: for example, through rewards and punishments. With observational learning, we learn by watching and imitating other people, establishing a closer link between our behavior and the behavior of others. Learning can occur in predictable or unexpected ways. It allows us to grow and change, and it is a key to achieving goals. Now let’s see how learning has shaped the lives of Ivonne Mosquera-Schmidt and Jeremy Lin. AN OMINOUS SMELL Ivonne is on her way to swim practice. As she walks through the locker room and approaches the pool entrance, she catches a whiff of chlorine. Immediately, her shoulders tense and her heart rate jumps. The smell of chlorine gives Ivonne the jitters, not because there is something inherent about the chemical that causes a physical reaction, but because it is associated with something she dreads: swimming. “I’ve never been a strong swimmer,” Ivonne says. “I just survive in water.” Submerging her ears in water, which is necessary when she swims the freestyle stroke in triathlons, makes Ivonne feel disoriented. “I can’t hear what’s around me,” she explains. “There aren’t sounds or echoes for me to follow.” Imagine navigating a mile in the frigid ocean bordering Canada in the Vancouver Triathlon, or plowing through choppy waves (not to mention dodging pieces of trash) in the Hudson River in New York City’s triathlon. Now imagine doing all of that swimming in the darkness. It’s no surprise that Ivonne feels a little apprehensive about being in the water. To understand why the smell of chlorine seems to evoke such a strong physiological response for Ivonne, we need to travel back in time and into the lab of a young Russian scientist: Ivan Pavlov. 175 CONNECTIONS In Chapter 1, we described the theme of nature and nurture, which examines the relative weight of heredity and environment. Some scientists who initially studied the biological and innate aspects (nature) of animals shifted their focus and began to study how experiences and learning (nurture) influenced these animals. In Chapter 1, we discussed Institutional Review Boards, which must approve all research with human participants and animal subjects to ensure safe and humane procedures. Suited Up to Swim Ivonne and her guide prepare for the 2012 Paratriathlon World Championships in Auckland, New Zealand. Ivonne is about to begin the swim portion of the triathlon, which takes place in the frigid ocean waters along Queens Wharf. She wears a wetsuit to keep her warm. The red string just below her knee is the tether that keeps her connected to the guide. G. John Schmidt/Courtesy Ivonne Mosquera-Schmidt show what you know 1. Learning is a relatively enduring change in . that results from our 2. Learning is often described as the creation of , for example, between two stimuli or between a behavior and its consequences. a. habituation b. ethical dilemmas c. associations d. unexpected events The Killeen Daily Herald, Marianne Lijewski Check your answers in Appendix C. 176 C HAP TE R 5 learning INFOGRAPHIC177 5.1 C lassical Conditioning Learning Through Classical Conditioning Classical Conditioning LO 2 A dog naturally begins to salivate when exposed to the smell of food, even before tasting it. This is an involuntary response of the autonomic nervous system, which we explored in Chapter 2. Dogs do not normally salivate at the sound of footsteps. Here, we see this response is a learned behavior, as the dog salivates without tasting or smelling food. Tick Tick Pavlov conditioned his dogs to salivate in response to auditory stimuli, such as bells and ticking metronomes. A metronome is a device that musicians often use to maintain tempo. This “old-fashioned” metronome has a wind-up knob and a pendulum that ticks at various speed settings. Modern metronomes are digital and often come with additional features such as adjustable volume. Perhaps Pavlov could have used these features to test different aspects of classical conditioning.Galina Ermolaeva/Dreamstime.com The son of a village priest, Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936) had planned to devote his life to the church. He changed his mind at a young age, however, when he discovered his love for science. Although he won a Nobel Prize in 1904 for his research on the physiology of digestion, Pavlov’s most enduring legacy was his trailblazing research on learning (Fancher & Rutherford, 2012). Pavlov spent the 1890s studying the digestive system of dogs at Russia’s Institute of Experimental Medicine (Watson, 1968). One of his early experiments involved measuring how much dogs salivate in response to food. Initially, the dogs salivated as expected, but as the experiment progressed, they began salivating to other stimuli as well. After repeated trials with an assistant giving a dog its food and then measuring the dog’s saliva output, Pavlov noticed that instead of salivating the moment it received food, the dog began to salivate at the mere sight or sound of the lab assistant arriving to feed it. The assistant’s footsteps, for example, seemed to act like a trigger (the stimulus) for the dog to start salivating (the response). Pavlov had discovered how associations develop through the process of learning, which he referred to as conditioning. The dog was associating the sound of footsteps with the arrival of food; it had been conditioned to associate certain sights and sounds with eating. Intrigued by his discovery, Pavlov decided to shift the focus of his research to investigate the dogs’ salivation (which he termed “psychic secretions”) in these types of scenarios (Fancher & Rutherford, 2012, p. 248; Watson, 1968). Pavlov’s Basic Research Plan Pavlov followed up on his initial observations with numerous studies in the early 1900s, examining the link between stimulus (for example, the sound of human footsteps) and response (the dog’s salivation). The type of behavior Pavlov was studying (salivating) is not voluntary, but involuntary or reflexive (Pavlov, 1906). The connection between food and salivating is innate and universal, whereas the link between the sound of footsteps and salivating is learned. Learning has occurred whenever a new, nonuniversal link between stimulus (footsteps) and response (salivation) is established. Many of Pavlov’s studies had the same basic format (Infographic 5.1). Prior to the experiment, the dog had a tube surgically inserted into its cheek to allow for the precise collection of saliva. When the dog salivated, instead of the secretions being swallowed, they were emptied from that tube into a measuring device so Pavlov could determine exactly how much the dog was producing. PAVLOV’S EXPERIMENT Before conditioning Dog salivates automatically when food is presented. Unconditioned stimulus Credits: McDonald’s logo, © Graham Oliver/Alamy; Historic photo of Pavlov’s dog experiment, Science Source; French fries in a red box, Shutterstock; Jack Russell terrier, Thinkstock; Bell, Thinkstock; Dog bowl, Thinkstock. CONNECTIONS During his experiments with dogs, Ivan Pavlov noticed them salivating before food was even presented. Somehow the dogs had learned to associate the lab assistant’s approaching footsteps with eating. This observation led to Pavlov’s discovery of the process of classical conditioning, in which we learn to associate a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus that produces an automatic, natural response. The crucial stage of this process involves repeated pairings of the two stimuli. Explain what Pavlov’s studies teach us about classical conditioning. Bell means nothing to dog, so there is no response. Neutral stimulus (ringing bell) Unconditioned response (salivates) HAVE YOU BEEN CONDITIONED? Before conditioning Neutral stimulus No response Unconditioned stimulus Unconditioned response (stomach growls) During conditioning No response Neutral stimulus Unconditioned stimulus During conditioning In the process of conditioning, bell is repeatedly played right before dog receives food. Over time, dog learns that bell signals arrival of food. repeated over time Unconditioned response (stomach growls) Neutral stimulus (ringing bell) + Unconditioned stimulus = Unconditioned response (salivates) Conditioned stimulus repeated over time After conditioning Dog has now learned to associate bell with food and will begin salivating when bell rings. Conditioned stimulus (ringing bell) After conditioning Conditioned response (salivates) Conditioned response (stomach growls) Classical conditioning prompts learning that occurs naturally, without studying or other voluntary effort. And it happens every day. Do you feel hungry when you see a pizza box or McDonald’s “golden arches”? Just like Pavlov’s dogs, we learn through repeated pairings to associate these neutral stimuli with food, and the sight of a cardboard box or a yellow “M” can be enough to get our stomachs rumbling. learning CONNECTIONS In Chapter 1, we discussed the importance of control in the experimental method. In this case, if the sound of footsteps was the stimulus, then Pavlov would need to control the number of steps taken, the type of shoes worn, and so on, to ensure the stimulus was identical for each trial. Otherwise, he would be introducing extraneous variables, which are characteristics that interfere with the outcome of research, making it difficult to determine what exactly was causing the dog to salivate. CONNECTIONS In Chapter 1, we discussed operational definitions, which are the precise ways in which characteristics of interest are defined and measured. Although earlier we described the research in everyday language, here we provide operational definitions for the procedures of the study. Synonym classical conditioning Pavlovian conditioning Because Pavlov was interested in exploring the link between a stimulus and the dog’s response, he had to pick a stimulus that was more controlled than the sound of someone walking into a room. Pavlov used a variety of stimuli, such as sounds produced by metronomes, buzzers, and bells, which under normal circumstances have nothing to do with food. In other words, they are neutral stimuli in relation to feeding and responses to food. On numerous occasions during an experimental trial, Pavlov and his assistants presented a dog with a chosen sound—the tone of a bell, for instance—and then moments later gave the dog some meat powder. Each time the tone was sounded, the assistant would wait a couple of seconds and then offer the dog the meat powder. All the while, its saliva was being measured. After repeated pairings, the dog learned to link the tone with the meat powder. We know this procedure resulted in learning, because after several pairings the dog would salivate in response to the tone alone, with no meat powder present. The dog had been conditioned to associate the tone with food. Time for Some Terms LO 3 Identify the differences between the US, UR, CS, and CR. Now that you know Pavlov’s basic research procedure, it is important to learn the specific terminology psychologists use to describe what is happening (Infographic 5.1). Before the experiment began, the tone was a neutral stimulus (NS)—something in the environment that does not normally cause a relevant automatic or reflexive response. In the current example, salivation is the automatic response associated with food; dogs do not normally respond to the tone of a bell by salivating. But through experience, the dogs learned to link this neutral stimulus (the tone) with another stimulus (food) that prompts an automatic, unlearned response (salivation). This type of learning is classical conditioning, and it occurs when an originally neutral stimulus is conditioned to elicit or induce an involuntary response, such as salivation, eye blinks, and other types of reflex reactions. US, UR, CS, AND CR At the start of a trial, before the dogs were conditioned or had neutral stimulus (NS) A stimulus that does not cause a relevant automatic or reflexive response. classical conditioning Learning process in which two stimuli become associated with each other; when an originally neutral stimulus is conditioned to elicit an involuntary response. unconditioned stimulus (US) A stimulus that automatically triggers an involuntary response without any learning needed. unconditioned response (UR) A reflexive, involuntary response to an unconditioned stimulus. conditioned stimulus (CS) A previously neutral stimulus that an organism learns to associate with an unconditioned stimulus. conditioned response (CR) A learned response to a conditioned stimulus. acquisition The initial learning phase in both classical and operant conditioning. 179 C lassical Conditioning learned anything about the neutral stimulus, they salivated when they smelled or were given food. The food is called an unconditioned stimulus (US) because it triggers an automatic response without any learning needed. Salivation by the dogs when exposed to food is an unconditioned response (UR) because it doesn’t require any conditioning (learning); the dog just does it involuntarily. The salivation (the UR) is an automatic response elicited by the smell or taste of food (the US). After conditioning has occurred, the dog responds to the tone of the bell almost as if it were food. The tone, previously a neutral stimulus, has now become a conditioned stimulus (CS) because it triggers the dog’s salivation. When the salivation occurs in response to the tone, it is called a conditioned response (CR); the salivation is a learned response. THE ACQUISITION PHASE The pairings of the neutral stimulus (the tone) with the US (the meat powder) occur during the acquisition or initial learning phase. Some points to remember: •The meat powder is always a US (the dog never has to learn how to respond to it). •The dog’s salivating is initially a UR to the meat powder, but eventually becomes a CR as it occurs in response to the tone (without the sight or smell of meat powder). •The US is always different from the CS; the US automatically triggers the response, but with the CS, the response has been learned by the organism. Pavlov’s work paved the way for a new generation of psychologists who considered behavior to be a topic of objective, scientific study. Like many who would follow, he believed that scientists should focus only on observable behaviors; his work transformed our understanding of learning and our approach to psychological research. Nuts and Bolts of Classical Conditioning We have learned about Pavlov’s dogs and their demonstration of classical conditioning. We have defined the terminology associated with that process. Now it’s time to take our learning (about learning) to the next level and examine some of the principles that guide the process. LO 4 CONNECTIONS In Chapter 1, we described the scientific method and how it depends on objective observations. An objective approach requires scientists to make their observations without the influence of personal opinion or preconceived notions. We are all prone to biases, but the scientific method helps minimize their effects. Pavlov was among the first to insist that behavior must be studied objectively. Recognize and give examples of stimulus generalization and stimulus discrimination. STIMULUS GENERALIZATION What would happen if a dog in one of Pavlov’s experiments heard a slightly higher-frequency tone? Would the dog still salivate? Pavlov (1927/1960) asked this same question and found that a stimulus similar to the CS caused the dogs to salivate as well. This is an example of stimulus generalization. Once an association is forged between a CS and a CR, the learner often responds to similar stimuli as if they are the original CS. When Pavlov’s dogs learned to salivate in response to a metronome ticking at 90 beats per minute, they also salivated when the metronome ticked a little more quickly (100 beats per minute) or slowly (80 beats per minute; Hothersall, 2004). Their response was generalized to metronome speeds ranging from 80 to 100 beats per minute. Perhaps you have been classically conditioned to salivate at the sight of a tall glass of lemonade. Stimulus generalization predicts you would now salivate when seeing a shorter glass of lemonade, or even a mug, if you knew it contained your favorite drink. STIMULUS DISCRIMINATION Next let’s see what would happen if you presented Pavlov’s dogs with two stimuli that differed significantly. Believe it or not, the dogs would be able to tell them apart. If you presented the meat powder with a highpitched sound, they would associate that pitch with the meat powder and salivate. However, they would not salivate in response to low-pitched sounds. The dogs would display stimulus discrimination, the ability to differentiate between a particular CS and other stimuli sufficiently different from it. With enough training, Pavlov’s dogs could differentiate among high and low tones (Watson, 1968). Similarly, someone who’s been stung by a bee might only become afraid at the sight of bees (and not flies, for example) because he has learned to discriminate among various flying insects. He has only been conditioned to experience fear in response to bees. EXTINCTION Once the dogs in a classical conditioning experiment associate the tone of a bell with meat powder, can they ever listen to the sound without salivating? The answer is yes—if they are repeatedly exposed to the sound of the tone without the meat powder. If the CS is presented time and again without the US, the association may fade. The CR decreases and eventually disappears in a process called extinction. In general, if dogs are repeatedly exposed to a CS (for example, a metronome or bell) without any tasty treats to follow, they produce progressively less saliva in response to the stimulus and, eventually, none at all (Watson, 1968). SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY But take note: Even with extinction, the connection is not necessarily gone forever. For example, Pavlov (1927/1960) used classical conditioning with a dog to form an association between the tone of a bell and meat rstock C HAP TE R 5 Layland Masud a/Shutte 178 CONNECTIONS In Chapter 3, we introduced the concept of a difference threshold, which is the minimum difference between two stimuli that is noticed 50% of the time. Here, we see that difference thresholds can play a role in stimulus discrimination tasks. The conditioned stimulus and the comparison stimuli must be sufficiently different to be distinguished; that is, their difference is greater than the difference threshold. stimulus generalization The tendency for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit the conditioned response. stimulus discrimination The ability to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli sufficiently different from it. extinction In classical conditioning, the process by which the CR decreases after repeated exposure to the CS in the absence of the US; in operant conditioning, the disappearance of a learned behavior through the removal of its reinforcer. 180 C HAP TE R 5 learning C lassical Conditioning powder. Once the tone was associated with the salivation, he stopped presenting the meat powder, and the association was extinguished (the dog didn’t salivate in response to the tone). Two hours following this extinction, Pavlov presented the tone again and the dog salivated. This reappearance of the conditioned response following its extinction is called spontaneous recovery. With the presentation of a CS after a period of rest, the CR reappears. The dog had not “forgotten” the association when the pairing was extinguished. Rather, the CR was “suppressed” when the dog was not being exposed to the US. Two hours later when the bell (the CS) sounded in the absence of food (the US), the association reemerged; the link between the tone and the food had been simmering beneath the surface. Let’s return to that refreshing glass of lemonade—a summer drink you may not consume for 9 months out of the year. It is possible that your CR (salivating) will be suppressed because of the process of extinction from September to the end of May, but when June rolls around, spontaneous recovery may occur, and once again you are salivating at the sight of that lemonade glass (the CS). HIGHER ORDER CONDITIONING After the acquisition phase, it is possible to add another layer to the conditioning process. Suppose the tone of the bell has become a CS for the dog, such that every time it sounds, the dog has learned to salivate. Once this conditioning is established, the researcher can add a new neutral stimulus, such as a light flashing, every time the dog hears the sound of the tone. After pairing the sound and the light together (without the meat powder anywhere in sight or smell), the light will become associated with the sound and the dog will begin to salivate in response to seeing the light alone. This is called higher order conditioning (Figure 5.1). With repeated pairings of the CS (the tone) and a new neutral stimulus (the light), the second neutral stimulus becomes a CS as well. When all is said and done, both stimuli (the sound and the light) have gone from being neutral stimuli to conditioned stimuli, and either of them can elicit the CR (salivation). But in higher order conditioning, the second neutral stimulus is paired with a CS instead of being paired with the original US (Pavlov, 1927/1960). In our example, the light is associated with the sound, not with the food directly. Humans also learn to salivate when presented with stimuli that signal the delivery of food. Perhaps your nightly routine includes making dinner during television commercial breaks, and your mouth begins to water as you prepare your food. Initially, FIGURE 5.1 Higher Order Conditioning Once an association has been made through classical conditioning, the conditioned stimulus can be used to acquire new learned associations. Here, when a conditioned stimulus (such as a bell that now triggers salivation) is repeatedly paired with a neutral stimulus (NS) such as a flashing light, the dog will learn to salivate in response to the light—without food ever being present! These multiple layers of learning help us understand how humans form associations between many different stimuli. Jack Russell terrier: Thinkstock; Bell: Thinkstock; Dog bowl: Thinkstock; Bulb: Shutterstock NS US CONDITIONING UR CS CR HIGHER ORDER CONDITIONING CR NS CS CS CR 181 the commercials are neutral stimuli, but maybe you have gotten into the habit of preparing food only during those breaks. Making your food (CS) causes you to salivate (CR), and because dinner preparation always happens during commercials, those commercials will eventually have the power to make you salivate (CR) as well, even in the absence of food. Here we have an example of higher order conditioning, wherein additional stimuli elicit the CR. Classical conditioning is not limited to examples of salivation. It affects you in ways you may not even realize. Think of what happens to your heart rate, for example, when you walk into a room where you have had a bad experience. See Table 5.1 on page 184 for some additional real-life examples of classical conditioning. Now let’s observe how classical conditioning might apply to Ivonne’s experiences. From Dogs to Triathletes: Extending Pavlov Getting in the water has always made Ivonne uneasy, making her muscles tighten and her heart pump faster. She experiences this physiological fear response (the UR) because she feels disoriented when her ears, which she uses for navigation, are submerged. Her disorientation would be considered an unconditioned stimulus (US). During the acquisition phase, Ivonne began to associate the smell of chlorine (a neutral stimulus) with the disorientation she feels (US) while swimming. Every time she went to the pool, the odor of chlorine was in the air. With repeated pairings of the chlorine smell and the disoriented feeling, the neutral stimulus became linked with the US. Now, simply smelling chlorine evokes the same physiological response she has when she feels disoriented in the water. The chlorine odor went from being a neutral stimulus to a conditioned stimulus that elicits the now conditioned response of her fear reaction. Now let’s explore a more hypothetical situation. If Ivonne were to smell dishes rinsed in a bleach solution or chlorine-smelling household cleaners, she might have a CR, suggesting stimulus generalization has occurred. This explains how we can react in ways that make no sense to us; Ivonne may wonder to herself why she is reacting so strongly to those dishes. Stimulus discrimination also applies to Ivonne’s example. A gym locker room is filled with all sorts of odors: hair spray, shampoo, and sweaty socks, just to mention a few. Of all the scents in the locker room, chlorine is the only one that gets her heart racing. The fact that Ivonne can single out this odor even when bombarded with other smells and sounds demonstrates her ability to differentiate the CS from other stimuli. It would be nice for Ivonne if the smell of chlorine no longer made her heart race. There are two ways that she could get rid of this classically conditioned response. First, she could stop swimming for a very long time, and the association might fade away through extinction. But quite often avoidance does not extinguish a classically conditioned response, as the possibility of spontaneous recovery always exists. (Recovery in this sense means recovering the conditioned response of fear, not the more familiar sense of “getting better.”) And clearly, this approach is not practical for Ivonne. The second option is to pair a new response with the US or the CS. For example, Ivonne could practice relaxation skills and positive race visualization that includes a successful completion of the swim, until swimming itself no longer triggers the anxiety. With this accomplished, the chlorine would cease to stir up anxiety as well. Or Ivonne could gradually expose herself to the smell of chlorine while maintaining a state of relaxation, thus preventing the learned anxiety and fear response. In Chapter 13, we present some techniques therapists use to help individuals struggling with anxiety and fear. Smells Like Chlorine Although Ivonne has now completed over 25 triathlons, she is not particularly comfortable with the swimming portion of the event. Just smelling chlorinated pool water makes her heart beat faster and her muscles tense—physiological responses resulting from classical conditioning. How might this reaction be eliminated? If Ivonne were to stay away from the pool for some period of time, the association between the chlorine smell and the disorientation she feels in the water may fade through the process of extinction. Michael S. Wirtz, Used with permission of Philadelphia Inquirer. Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved. spontaneous recovery The reappearance of a conditioned response following its extinction. higher order conditioning With repeated pairings of a conditioned stimulus and a neutral stimulus, the second neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus as well. 182 C HAP TE R 5 learning C lassical Conditioning Yuck: Conditioned Taste Aversion LO 5 You Asked, Ivonne Answers http://qrs.ly/nm3m61e Does the feel of water always give you the “jitters”? CONNECTIONS In Chapter 1, we introduced the evolutionary perspective, which suggests that adaptive behaviors and traits are shaped by natural selection. Here, the evolutionary perspective helps clarify why some types of learning are so powerful. In the case of conditioned taste aversion, species gain an evolutionary advantage through quick and efficient learning about poisonous foods. conditioned taste aversion A form of classical conditioning that occurs when an organism learns to associate the taste of a particular food or drink with illness. adaptive value The degree to which a trait or behavior helps an organism survive. biological preparedness The tendency for animals to be predisposed or inclined to form associations. conditioned emotional response An emotional reaction acquired through classical conditioning; process by which an emotional reaction becomes associated with a previously neutral stimulus. Summarize how classical conditioning is dependent on the biology of the organism. Have you ever experienced food poisoning? After falling ill from something you ate, whether it was sushi, uncooked chicken, or tainted peanut butter, you probably steered clear of that particular food for a while. This is an example of conditioned taste aversion, a powerful form of classical conditioning that occurs when an organism learns to associate the taste of a particular food or drink with illness. Imagine a grizzly bear that avoids poisonous berries after vomiting all day from eating them. Often it only takes a single pairing between a food and a bad feeling—that is, one-trial learning—for an organism to learn its lesson. In the case of the bear, the US is the poison in the berries; the UR is the vomiting. After acquisition, the CS would be the sight of the berries, and the CR would be a nauseous feeling, as well as avoiding the berries in the future. Avoiding foods that induce sickness has adaptive value, meaning it helps organisms survive, upping the odds they will reproduce and pass their genes along to the next generation. According to the evolutionary perspective, humans and other animals have a powerful drive to ensure that they and their offspring reach reproductive age, so it’s critical to steer clear of tastes that have been associated with illness. How might conditioned taste aversion play out in your life? Suppose you eat a hot dog a few hours before coming down with a stomach virus that’s coincidentally spreading throughout your college. The hot dog isn’t responsible for your illness— and you might even be aware of this—but the thought of eating one can make you feel sick even after you have recovered. Physical experiences like this can sometimes be so strong that they override our knowledge of the facts. RATS WITH BELLYACHES American psychologist John Garcia and his colleagues provided a demonstration of taste aversion in their well-known studies with laboratory rats (Garcia, Ervin, & Koelling, 1966). They designed a series of experiments to explore how rats respond to eating and drinking foods associated with sickness. In one study, Garcia and his colleagues provided the animals with flavored water followed by injections of a drug that upset their stomachs. The animals rejected that flavored drink thereafter. The rats in Garcia’s studies seemed naturally inclined to link their “internal malaise” (sick feeling) to tastes and smells and less likely to associate the nausea with other types of stimuli related to their hearing or vision, such as noises or things they saw (Garcia et al., 1966). This is clearly an adaptive trait, because nausea often results from ingesting food that is poisonous or spoiled. In order to survive, an animal must be able to recognize and shun the tastes of dangerous substances. Garcia’s research highlights the importance of biological preparedness, the predisposition or inclination of animals (and people) to form certain kinds of associations through classical conditioning. Conditioned taste aversion is a powerful form of learning; would you believe it can be used to save endangered species? didn’t SEE that coming Rescuing Animals with Classical Conditioning Using your newfound knowledge of conditioned taste aversion, imagine how you might solve the following problem: An animal is in trouble in Australia. The northern quoll, a meat-eating marsupial that might be described as a cute version of an opossum, is critically endangered because a non-native “cane toad” is invading its territory. Cane toads may look delicious (at least to the quolls, who eat them right up), but they pack a lethal dose of poison—often enough to kill a quoll 183 in just one eating. Wherever the toads have settled, quoll populations have diminished or disappeared (O’Donnell, Webb, & Shine, 2010). The quolls are now in danger of becoming extinct. How could you use conditioned taste aversion to save them? Remember that conditioned taste aversion occurs when an organism EATING A POISONOUS rejects a food or drink after consuming it and becoming very sick. To condi- TOAD CAN tion the quolls to stop eating the toxic toads, you must teach them to assoTAKE A QUOLL! ciate the little amphibians with nausea. You could do this by feeding them non-poisonous cane toads containing a drug that causes nausea. A group of researchers from the University of Sydney recently used this approach with the quolls, and the strategy turned out to be quite successful. Quolls that were submitted to conditioned taste aversion were less likely than their unconditioned comrades to eat the poisonous toads and die (O’Donnell et al., 2010). Learning to the Rescue Australia’s northern quoll (left) is threatened by the introduction of an invasive species known as the cane toad (right). The quolls eat the toads, which carry a lethal dose of poison, but they can learn to avoid this toxic prey through conditioned taste aversion (O’Donnell et al., 2010). left: Eric and David Hosking/CORBIS; right: Chris Mattison/FLPA/Science Source Similar approaches are being tried across the world. For example, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is using taste aversion to discourage endangered Mexican wolves from feasting on livestock in New Mexico and Arizona (Bryan, 2012, January 28). As you see, lessons learned by psychologists working in a lab can have far-reaching consequences. Little Albert and Conditioned Emotional Response LO 6 Describe the Little Albert study and explain how fear can be learned. So far, we have focused chiefly on the classical conditioning of physical responses— salivation, nausea, and increased heart rate. Now let’s take a closer look at some of the emotional reactions classical conditioning can produce, through the pairing of a stimulus with an emotional response. We call this a conditioned emotional response: an emotional reaction acquired via classical conditioning. The classic case study of “Little Albert,” conducted by John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner, provides a famous illustration of a conditioned emotional response (Watson & Rayner, 1920). Little Albert was an 11-month-old baby who initially had no fear of rats. When he saw the white rats scurrying about Watson and Rayner’s lab, he didn’t seem the least bit scared. In fact, he was rather intrigued and sometimes reached out to touch them. But all this changed when the researchers began banging a hammer against a steel bar (a US for a fear response in younger children) every time he reached for the rat (Harris, 1979). After seven pairings of the loud noise and the appearance of the rat, Little Albert began to fear rats and generalized this fear to other furry objects, including a sealskin coat and a rabbit (Harris, 1979). The sight of the rat went from being a neutral stimulus to a conditioned stimulus (CS), and Little Albert’s fear of the rat became a conditioned response (CR). CONNECTIONS In Chapter 1, we introduced two types of research. Basic research is focused on gathering knowledge for the sake of knowledge. Applied research focuses on changing behaviors and outcomes, often leading to real-world applications. Here, we see how classical conditioning principles are applied to help save wildlife. C HAP TE R 5 184 learning Poor Albert “Little Albert” was an 11-monthold baby who developed a fear of rats through his participation in an ethically questionable experiment by John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner (Watson & Rayner, 1920). Watson and Rayner repeatedly showed the child a rat while terrifying him with a loud banging sound. Albert quickly learned to associate the sight of the rat with the scary noise, and his resulting fear of rats is known as a conditioned emotional response. Archives of the History of American Psychology, The Center for the History of Psychology, The University of Akron Table 5.1 Real-Life C lassical Conditioning Nobody knows exactly what happened to Little Albert after he participated in Watson and Rayner’s research. Some psychologists believe Little Albert’s true identity is still unknown (Powell, 2010; Reese, 2010). Others have proposed Little Albert was Douglas Merritte, who at age 6 died of hydrocephalus (Beck & Irons, 2011; Beck, Levinson, & Irons, 2009). More recently, researchers have proposed that Little Albert was William Albert Barger (later known as William Albert Martin), who lived until 2007 and reportedly did not like animals (Powell, Digdon, Harris, & Smithson, 2014). Did Barger’s distaste for animals stem from his participation in Watson and Rayner’s experiment, or was it the result of seeing a childhood pet killed in an accident? Researchers cannot be sure, and we may never know the true identity of Little Albert or the long-term effects of his exposure to this type of unethical conditioning. The Little Albert study would never happen today; at least, we hope it wouldn’t. Contemporary psychologists conduct research according to stringent ethical guidelines, and instilling terror in a baby would not be considered acceptable (and would not be allowed at research institutions). However, it is not too far out to imagine a similar scenario playing out in real life. Picture a toddler who is about to reach for a rat on the kitchen floor. A parent sees this happening and shouts “NO!” It would not take many pairings of the toddler reaching for the rat and the parent shouting “NO!” for the child to develop a fear of the rat. In this real-world scenario, you would be hard-pressed to find someone who would say the parent’s behavior was unethical. Classical Conditioning: Do You Buy It? Classical conditioning has applications in marketing and sales (Table 5.1). Some research suggests that advertisements can instill emotions and attitudes toward product brands through classical conditioning, and that these responses may linger as long as 3 weeks (Grossman & Till, 1998). In one study, some participants were shown pictures Does Sexy Sell? Justin Bieber models underwear for Calvin Klein’s Spring 2015 ad campaign. Research suggests that advertisements may instill attitudes toward brands through classical conditioning (Grossman & Till, 1998), but how do these attitudes affect sales? Now that is a question worth researching. The Advertising Archives of pleasant scenes (such as a tropical location or a panda in a natural setting) paired with a fictitious mouthwash brand. Participants who were exposed to the mouthwash (originally a neutral stimulus) and the favorable pictures (the US) were more likely to retain a positive enduring attitude (now the CR) toward the mouthwash (which became a CS) than participants who were exposed to the entire same set of pictures paired in random order. In other words, the researchers were able to create “favorable attitudes” toward the fictitious brand of mouthwash by pairing pictures of the mouthwash with scenery that evoked positive emotions (Grossman & Till, 1998). The study did not address whether this favorable attitude leads to a purchase, however. Do you think you are susceptible to this kind of conditioning? We would venture to say that we all are. Complete the following Try This to see if classical conditioning affects your attitudes and feelings toward everyday products. Examples of Classical Conditioning Marketers use classical conditioning to instill positive emotions and attitudes toward product brands. List examples of recent advertisements you have seen on television or the Internet that use this approach to get people to buy products. Which of your recent purchases may have been influenced by such ads? Type Pairing of Neutral Stimulus and US Expected Response Advertising Repeated pairing of products such as cars (neutral stimulus) with celebrities (US) Automatic response to celebrity (UR), such as sexual arousal, heart racing, desire; pairing leads to similar response, such as sexual arousal, heart racing, desire (CR) to the product (CS). Fears Pairing of a dog lunging (US) at you on the street (neutral stimulus) where you take your morning run Automatic response to the dog lunging at you is fear (UR); pairing leads to similar response of fear (CR) to the street (CS) where the dog lives. One pairing of seeing a car in the rearview mirror (neutral stimulus) and being rear-ended by that car (US) Automatic response to the impact of the collision is fear (UR); with one pairing, the sight of a car approaching in the rearview mirror (CS) elicits a fearful reaction (CR). Repeated pairings of originally nonsexual objects like shoes (neutral stimuli) and sexual activity (US) Automatic response to sexual activity is sexual arousal (UR), leading to an association of sexual pleasure (CR) with the objects (CS). 1. Repeated pairings of a cologne (neutral stimulus) with your romantic partner (US) Automatic response to your feelings for your partner is sexual arousal (UR); paired with the cologne (CS), leads to sexual arousal (CR). , animals and people are 2. Because of predisposed or inclined to form associations that increase their chances of survival. Fetishes Romance The implications of classical conditioning extend far beyond salivating dogs. These are just a few examples of how this form of learning impacts daily life. 185 try this Remember that classical conditioning is a type of learning associated with automatic (or involuntary) behaviors. You don’t “learn” to go out and buy a particular brand of mouthwash through classical conditioning. Classical conditioning can influence our attitudes toward products, but it can’t teach us voluntary behaviors. Well then, how do we learn these types of deliberate behaviors? Read on. show what you know is the learning process in which two stimuli become associated. 3. Hamburgers were once your favorite food, but ever since you ate a burger tainted with salmonella (which causes food poisoning), you cannot smell or taste one without feeling nauseous. Which of the following is the unconditioned stimulus? a. salmonella b. nausea d. the hamburger vendor c. hamburgers 4. Watson and Rayner used classical conditioning to instill fear in Little Albert. Create a diagram of the neutral stimulus, US, UR, CS, and CR used in their experiment. In what way does Little Albert show stimulus generalization? Check your answers in Appendix C. 186 C HAP TE R 5 learning Operant Conditioning Rising Star Jeremy Lin appears on a 2012 cover of Sports Illustrated. This rookie player amazed the world on February 4 of that same year when he came off the bench and led the New York Knicks to victory against the New Jersey Nets. It was the first game of a Lin-led winning streak— the beginning of “Linsanity.” Sports Illustrated/Getty Images THE JEREMY LIN SHOW Madison Square Garden, February 4, 2012: The New York Knicks are playing their third game in three nights, hoping to end a losing streak. But they are already trailing far behind the New Jersey Nets in the first quarter. That’s when Jeremy Lin, a third-string point guard who is dangerously close to being cut from his third NBA team, bounds off the bench and leads the Knicks to a stunning victory. By the end of the game, the crowd is going crazy, the Knicks players are laughing like giddy schoolboys, and the Pearl Jam song “Jeremy” reverberates through the stadium (Beck, 2012, February 4; Dalrymple, 2012). One commentator perfectly sums up the state of affairs: “It’s the Jeremy Lin Show here at Madison Square Garden” (Dalrymple, 2012, p. 24). Jeremy Lin was an overnight sensation. People around the world were fascinated by him for many reasons. He was the fourth Asian American player in NBA history, the first Harvard graduate to play in the league since the 1950s, and previously a benchwarmer, not even drafted out of college (Beck, 2011, December 28). Everyone was asking the same question: Would Jeremy be a one-game wonder or something bigger? Jeremy ended up leading the Knicks through a seven-game victory spree, the highlights of which included scoring 38 points against the Los Angeles Lakers— more points in that game than the Lakers’ mighty Kobe Bryant (ESPN.com, 2012, February 10). Suddenly, Jeremy’s face was everywhere—on the covers of TIME Magazine and Sports Illustrated (twice) and all over the Internet (Dalrymple, 2012, p. xv). Where did this guy come from? Like any of us, Jeremy is a unique blend of nature and nurture. He was blessed with a hearty helping of physical capabilities (nature), such as speed, agility, and coordination. But he was also shaped by the circumstances of his life (nurture). This second category is where learning comes in. Let’s find out how. The Shaping of Behavior We Did It, Coach! Jeremy and his teammates from Palo Alto High School celebrate a victory that led them to the 2006 state finals. Pictured in the center is Coach Peter Diepenbrock, who has maintained a friendship with Jeremy since he graduated. Prior to Jeremy’s sensational season with the Knicks, Diepenbrock helped him with his track workouts. Keith Peters/Palo Alto Weekly 187 O perant Conditioning When Jeremy began his freshman year at Palo Alto High School, he was about 5´3˝ and 125 pounds—not exactly NBA material. During his sophomore year, he learned to dunk, and by senior year, he was over 6 feet tall and leading his team to victory in the Division II state championship (Dalrymple, 2012; Tennis, 2012, February 20). Jeremy was a big fish in a small pond—so big that he didn’t need to work very hard to maintain his level of success. However, college recruiters did not observe anything exceptional in his strength or overall athleticism (Viera, 2012, February 12). This may be the reason Jeremy did not receive any athletic scholarship offers from Division I colleges, despite his basketball prowess and 4.2 grade point average (McGregor, 2012, February 15; Spears, 2012, February 18). Things changed when Jeremy found himself in a bigger pond, playing basketball at Harvard University. That’s when Coach Diepenbrock says the young player began working harder on aspects of practice he didn’t particularly enjoy, such as weight lifting, ball handling, and conditioning. When Jeremy was picked up by the NBA, his dili- gence soared to a new level. While playing with the Golden State Warriors, he would eat breakfast at the team’s training facility by 8:30 a.m., three and a half hours before practice. “Then, all of sudden, you’d hear a ball bouncing on the floor,” Keith Smart, a former coach told The New York Times (Beck, 2012, February 24, para. 14). Between NBA seasons, Jeremy returned to his alma mater Palo Alto High School to run track workouts with Coach Diepenbrock. He also trained with a shooting coach and spent “an inordinate amount of time” honing his shot, according to Diepenbrock. Jeremy’s persistence paid off. The once-scrawny scrapper, now 6´3˝ and 200 pounds (ESPN.com, 2015), is exploding with power and agility. According to Diepenbrock, “He has gotten to the point where now, as far as the strength and the athleticism, he is on par—or good enough—with veteran NBA athletes.” You Asked, Ivonne Answers http://qrs.ly/o83m611 What methods did you use to learn in school? OPERANT CONDITIONING DEFINED What has kept Jeremy working so hard all these years? Psychologists might attribute Jeremy’s ongoing efforts to operant conditioning, a type of learning in which people or animals come to associate their voluntary actions with their consequences. Whether pleasant or unpleasant, the effects of a behavior influence future actions. Think about some of the consequences of Jeremy’s training—short-term results like seeing his free throw shot improve, and long-term rewards like victory, fame, and fortune. How do you think these outcomes might have influenced (and continue to influence) Jeremy’s behavior? Before addressing this question, we need to take a closer look at operant conditioning. LO 7 FIGURE 5.2 Puzzle Box Early psychologist Edward Thorndike conducted his well-known cat experiments using “puzzle boxes” like the one shown below. At the start of the experiment, Thorndike’s cats pawed around haphazardly until they managed to unlatch the cage and then eat the fish treats outside the door. As the trials wore on, the felines learned to free themselves more quickly. After several trials, the amount of time needed to escape the box dropped significantly (see graph below). Thorndike attributed this phenomenon to the law of effect, which states that behaviors are more likely to reoccur if they are followed by pleasurable outcomes. Describe Thorndike’s law of effect. THORNDIKE AND HIS CATS One of the first scientists to objectively study the effect of consequences on behavior was American psychologist Edward Thorndike (1874 –1949). Thorndike’s early research focused on chicks and other animals, many of which he kept in his apartment. But after an incubator almost caught fire, his landlady insisted he get rid of the chicks (Hothersall, 2004). It was in the lab that Thorndike conducted his research on cats. His most famous experimental setup involved putting a cat in a latched cage called a “puzzle box” and planting enticing pieces of fish outside the door. When first placed in the box, the cat would scratch and paw around randomly, but after a while, just by chance, it would pop the latch, causing the door to release. The cat would then escape the cage to devour the fish (Figure 5.2). The next time the cat was put in the box, it would repeat this random Source: Adapted from Thorndike, 1898 More Time required to escape Less 0 5 10 15 Number of trials 20 operant conditioning Learning that occurs when voluntary actions become associated with their consequences. 25 188 C HAP TE R 5 learning Radical Behaviorist American psychologist Burrhus Frederic Skinner, or simply B. F. Skinner, is one of the most influential psychologists of all time. Skinner believed that every thought, emotion, and behavior (basically anything psychological) is shaped by factors in the environment. Using animal chambers known as “Skinner Boxes,” he conducted carefully controlled experiments on animal behavior. Nina Leen/Time & Life Pictures/ Getty Images law of effect Thorndike’s principle stating that behaviors are more likely to be repeated when followed by pleasurable outcomes, and those followed by something unpleasant are less likely to be repeated. reinforcers Consequences, such as events or objects, that increase the likelihood of a behavior reoccurring. reinforcement Process by which an organism learns to associate a voluntary behavior with its consequences. behaviorism The scientific study of observable behavior. shaping The use of reinforcers to guide behavior to the acquisition of a desired, complex behavior. O perant Conditioning activity, scratching and pawing with no particular direction. And again, just by chance, the cat would pop the latch that released the door and freed it to eat the fish. Each time the cat was returned to the box, the number of random activities decreased until eventually it was able to break free almost immediately (Thorndike, 1898). We should highlight a few important issues relating to this early research. First, these cats discovered the solution to the puzzle box accidentally, while exhibiting their naturally occurring behaviors (scratching and exploring). So, they initially obtained the fish treat by accident. The other important point is that the measure of learning was not an exam grade or basketball score, but the amount of time it took the cats to break free. The cats’ behavior, Thorndike reasoned, could be explained by the law of effect, which says that a behavior (opening the latch) is more likely to happen again when followed by a pleasurable outcome (delicious fish). Behaviors that lead to pleasurable outcomes will be repeated, while behaviors that don’t lead to pleasurable outcomes (or are followed by something unpleasant) will not be repeated. The law of effect is not limited to cats. When was the last time your behavior changed as a result of a pleasurable outcome? Most contemporary psychologists would call the fish in Thorndike’s experiments reinforcers, because the fish increased the likelihood that the preceding behavior (escaping the cage) would occur again. Reinforcers are consequences that follow behaviors, and they are a key component of operant conditioning. Our daily lives abound with examples of reinforcers. Praise, hugs, good grades, enjoyable food, and attention are all reinforcers that increase the probability the behaviors they follow will be repeated. Through the process of reinforcement, targeted behaviors become more frequent. A child praised for sharing a toy is more likely to share in the future. A student who studies hard and earns an A on an exam is more likely to prepare well for upcoming exams. SKINNER AND BEHAVIORISM Some of the earliest and most influential research on operant conditioning came out of the lab of B. F. Skinner (1904 –1990), an American psychologist. Like Pavlov, Skinner had not planned to study learning. Upon graduating from college, Skinner decided to become a writer and a poet, but after a year of trying his hand at writing, he decided he “had nothing to say” (Skinner, 1976). Around this time, he began to read the work of Watson and Pavlov, which inspired him to pursue a graduate degree in psychology. He enrolled at Harvard, took some psychology classes that he found “dull,” and eventually joined a lab in the Department of Biology, where he could study the subject he found most intriguing: animal behavior. Skinner was devoted to behaviorism, the scientific study of observable behavior. Behaviorists believed that psychology could only be considered a “true science” if it was based on the study of behaviors that could be seen and documented. In relation to learning, Skinner and other behaviorists proposed that all behaviors, thoughts, and emotions are shaped by factors in the external environment. LO 8 Explain shaping and the method of successive approximations. SHAPING AND SUCCESSIVE APPROXIMATIONS Building on Thorndike’s law of effect and Watson’s approach to research, Skinner demonstrated, among other things, that rats can learn to push levers and pigeons can learn to bowl (Peterson, 2004). Since animals can’t be expected to immediately perform such complex behaviors, Skinner employed shaping, the use of reinforcers to change behaviors through small steps toward a desired behavior (see Infographic 5.2 on page 190). Skinner used shaping to teach a rat to “play basketball” (dropping a marble through a hole) and pigeons to “bowl” (nudging a ball down a miniature alley). As you can see in the photo on page 188. Skinner placed animals in chambers, or Skinner boxes, which were outfitted with food dispensers the animals could activate (by pecking a target or pushing on a lever, for instance) and recording equipment to monitor these behaviors. These boxes allowed Skinner to conduct carefully controlled experiments, measuring activity precisely and advancing the scientific and systematic study of behavior. How in the world did Skinner get pigeons to bowl? The first task was to break the bowling lessons into small steps that pigeons could accomplish. Next, he introduced reinforcers as consequences for behaviors that came closer and closer to achieving the desired goal—bowling a strike! Choosing the right increments for the behaviors was crucial. If his expectations started too high, the pigeons would never be given any reinforcers. If his expectations were too low, the pigeons would get reinforcers for everything they did. Either way, they would be unable to make the critical connection between desired behavior and reward. So Skinner devised a plan such that every time the animals did something that brought them a step closer to completing the desired behavior, they would get a reinforcer (usually food). The first reward might be given for simply looking at the ball; the second for bending down and touching it; and the third, for nudging the ball with their beaks. Since each incremental change in behavior brings the birds closer to accomplishing the larger goal of bowling, this method is called shaping by successive approximations. By the end of the experiment, the pigeons were repeatedly driving balls down miniature alleys, knocking down pins with a swipe of the beak (Peterson, 2004). Successive approximations can also be used with humans, who are sometimes unwilling or unable to change problematic behaviors overnight. For example, psychologists have used successive approximation to change truancy behavior in adolescents (Enea & Dafinoiu, 2009). The truant teens were provided reinforcers for consistent attendance, but with small steps requiring increasingly more days in school. It is amazing that the principles used for training animals can also be harnessed to keep teenagers in school. Is there anything operant conditioning can’t accomplish? 189 Synonym Skinner boxes operant chambers Musical Bunny Keller and Marian Breland observe one of their animal performers at the IQ Zoo in Hot Springs, Arkansas, circa 1960. Using the operant conditioning concepts they learned from B. F. Skinner, the Brelands trained ducks to play guitars, raccoons to shoot basketballs, and chickens to tell fortunes. But their animal “students” did not always cooperate; sometimes their instincts interfered with the conditioning process (Bihm, Gillaspy, Lammers, & Huffman, 2010). The Central Arkansas Library System/Courtesy of Bob Bailey THINK again Chickens Can’t Play Baseball Rats can be conditioned to press levers; pigeons can be trained to bowl; and—believe it or not—chickens can learn to dance and play the piano (Breland & Breland, 1951). Keller and Marian Breland, a pair of Skinner’s students, managed to train 6,000 animals not only to boogie but also to vacuum, dine at a table, and play sports and musical instruments (Breland & Breland, 1961). But as hard as they tried, the Brelands could not coax a chicken to play baseball. Here’s a rundown of what happened: The Brelands placed a chicken in a cage adjacent to a scaled down “baseball field,” where it had access to a loop attached to a baseball bat. If the chicken managed to swing the bat hard enough to send the ball into the outfield, a food reward was delivered at the other end of the cage. Off the bird would go, running toward its meal dispenser like a baseball BASEBALL? NO. player sprinting to first base—or so the routine was supposed to go. But as PIANO? YES. soon as the Brelands took away the cage, the chicken behaved nothing like a baseball player; instead, it madly chased and pecked at the ball (Breland & Breland, 1961). How did the Brelands explain the chickens’ behavior? They believed that the successive approximations A method of shaping that uses reinforcers birds were demonstrating instinctive drift, the tendency for instinct to undermine to condition a series of small steps that conditioned behaviors. A chicken’s pecking, for example, is an instinctive foodgradually approach the target behavior. getting behavior. Pecking is useful for opening seeds or killing insects (Breland & instinctive drift The tendency for Breland, 1961), but it won’t help the bird get to first base. Animal behavior can be animals to revert to instinctual behaviors after a behavior pattern has been learned. conditioned, but instinct may interfere with the process. INFOGRAPHIC5.2 5.2 INFOGRAPHIC O perant Conditioning Learning Through Operant Conditioning Table 5.2 Conditioning Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which we associate our voluntary actions with the consequences of those actions. For example, a pigeon naturally pecks things. But if every time the pigeon pecks a ball, he is given a reinforcer, the pigeon will soon learn to peck the ball more frequently. B. F. Skinner showed that operant conditioning could do more than elicit simple, isolated actions. Through the process of shaping, in which reinforcers are used to change behaviors toward a more complex behavior, Skinner taught his pigeons to perform behaviors involving a series of actions, like bowling and tennis. Today, shaping is used routinely by parents, teachers, coaches, and employers to train all kinds of complex behaviors. SKINNER’S EXPERIMENT: TRAIN A PIGEON TO PLAY TENNIS REI N FO RCEM ENT peck reinforcement with seeds Ball-pecking behavior increases. peck peck peck REINFORCEMENT REINFORCEMENT 1 REINFORCEMENT Child refuses to eat vegetables. Now only the next step toward “tennis” is rewarded. peck peck pushing the ball REIN FO RCEM ENT reinforcement with seeds 2 YES! Reinforced for touching fork Ball-pushing behavior increases. pushing the ball REINFORCEMENT pushing the ball REINFORCEMENT pushing the ball REINFORCEMENT 3 GOOD JOB! Now, reinforced for touching vegetables After behavior has been shaped through reinforcement, the pigeon has learned to play tennis. 4 After behavior has been shaped through reinforcement, the child has learned to eat his vegetables. Term Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning The Association Links different stimuli, often through repeated pairings Links behavior to its consequence, often through repeated pairings Response Involuntary behavior Voluntary behavior Acquisition The initial learning phase The initial learning phase Extinction The process by which the conditioned response decreases after repeated exposure to the conditioned stimulus in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus The disappearance of a learned behavior through the removal of its reinforcer Spontaneous Recovery The reappearance of the conditioned response following its extinction. Following extinction due to the absence of reinforcers, the behavior reemerges in a similar setting These fundamental learning concepts apply to both classical and operant conditioning. Collection of four raw grains (broomcorn millet, wheat, rye, and sunflower seeds), Shutterstock; Gray dove on a white background, Shutterstock; Ping pong; Shutterstock; Greek salad, Shutterstock; Boy with salad; Thinkstock; Two pigeons play a version of ping pong, Yale Joel/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images; Pigeons © Zoonar GmbH/Alamy. Pigeon is rewarded with seeds for pecking the ball. HAVE YOU BEEN TRAINED? Not every child is born loving the healthy foods his parent offers. But shaping can help a child learn to eat his vegetables. Over a period of time, reinforcement is given for behaviors that are closer and closer to this goal. Can you think of anything that would be a reward for eating vegetables? Praise or the excitement of a contest may work in this way. Basics These examples involve researchers deliberately shaping behaviors with reinforcers in a laboratory setting. Many behaviorists believe behaviors are being shaped all of the time, both in and out of the laboratory. What factors in the environment might be shaping your behavior? Common Features of Operant and Classical Conditioning Both operant and classical conditioning are forms of learning, and they share many common principles (Table 5.2). As with classical conditioning, behaviors learned through operant conditioning go through an acquisition phase. Jeremy Lin learned to dunk a basketball when he was a sophomore in high school. The cats in Thorndike’s experiments learned how to escape their puzzle boxes after a certain number of trials. In both cases, the acquisition stage occurred through the gradual process of shaping. Behaviors learned through operant conditioning are also subject to extinction—that is, they may fade in the absence of reinforcers. A rat in a Skinner box eventually gives up pushing on a lever if there is no longer a reinforcer awaiting. But that same leverpushing behavior can make a sudden comeback through spontaneous recovery. After a rest period, the rat returns to his box and reverts to his old lever-pushing ways. With operant conditioning, stimulus generalization is seen when a previously learned response to one stimulus occurs in the presence of a similar stimulus. A rat is conditioned to push a particular type of lever, but it may push a variety of other lever types similar in shape, size, and color. Horses also show stimulus generalization. With successive approximations using a tasty oat-molasses grain reinforcer, a small sample of horses learned to push on a “rat lever” with their lips in response to the appearance of a solid black circle with a 2.5-inch diameter. After conditioning, the horses were presented with a variety of black circles of different diameters; demonstrating stimulus generalization, they pressed the lever most often when shown circles close in size to the original (Dougherty & Lewis, 1991). Stimulus discrimination is also at work in operant conditioning, as organisms can learn to discriminate between behaviors that do and do not result in reinforcement. With the use of reinforcers, turtles can learn to discriminate among black, white, and gray paddles. In one study, researchers rewarded a turtle with morsels of meat when it 191 192 C HAP TE R 5 learning O perant Conditioning chose a black paddle over a white one; subsequently, the turtle chose the black paddle over other-colored paddles (Leighty et al., 2013). Stimulus discrimination even applies to basketball players. Jeremy Lin certainly has learned to discriminate between teammates and opponents. It’s unlikely he would get reinforcement from the crowd if he mistook an opponent for a teammate and passed the ball to the other team. Making a perfect pass to a teammate, on the other hand, would likely earn approval. This brings us to the next topic, positive reinforcement, where we start to see how classical and operant conditioning differ. Types of Reinforcement LO 9 Identify the differences between positive and negative reinforcement. POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT With Good Work Georgia preschool teacher Inyite (Shell) Adie-Ikor with a bouquet of roses. She is the recipient of the Early Childhood Educator Award and a $10,000 check from the international education organization Knowledge Universe. Awards and money often reinforce the behaviors they reward, but every individual responds differently to reinforcement. Craig Bromley/Getty Images for Knowledge Universe operant conditioning, an organism learns to associate voluntary behaviors with their consequences. Any stimulus that increases a behavior is a reinforcer. What we haven’t addressed is that a reinforcer can be something added or something taken away. In the process of positive reinforcement, reinforcers are presented (added) following the targeted behavior, and reinforcers in this case are generally pleasant (see Infographic 5.3 on page 199). By presenting positive reinforcers following a target behavior, we are increasing the chances that the target behavior will occur again. If the behavior doesn’t increase after the stimulus is presented, that particular stimulus should not be considered a reinforcer. The fish treats that Thorndike’s cats received immediately after escaping the puzzle box and the morsels of bird feed that Skinner’s pigeons got for bowling are examples of positive reinforcement. In both cases, the reinforcers were added following the desired behavior and were pleasurable. There were also many potential positive reinforcers driving Jeremy Lin. The praise that his coaches gave him for passing a ball to a teammate would be an example of positive reinforcement. Back in high school, Coach Diepenbrock rewarded players with stickers to provide feedback on their performance (“kind of middle schoolish,” he admits, but effective nonetheless). Jeremy averaged the highest sticker score of any player ever. Did the sticker system have an effect on Jeremy’s behavior? Coach Diepenbrock cannot be certain, but if it did, seeing his sticker-filled poster would have served as a positive reinforcer for him to practice. You may be wondering if this approach could be used in a college classroom. The answer would inevitably depend on the people involved. Remember, the definition of a positive reinforcer depends on the organism’s response to its presence (Skinner, 1953). You may love getting stickers, but your classmate may be offended by them. Keep in mind, too, that not all positive reinforcers are pleasant; when we refer to positive reinforcement, we mean that something has been added. For example, if a child is starved for attention, then any kind of attention (including a reprimand) would be experienced as a positive reinforcer. Every time the child misbehaves, she gets reprimanded, and reprimanding is a form of attention, which the child craves. The scolding reinforces the misbehavior. NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT We have established that behaviors can be increased or strengthened by the addition of a stimulus. But it is also possible to increase a behavior by taking something away. Behaviors can increase in response to negative reinforcement, through the process of taking away (or subtracting) something unpleasant. Skinner used negative reinforcement to shape the behavior of his rats. The rats were placed in Skinner boxes with floors that delivered a continuous mild electric shock—except when they pushed on a lever. The animals would begin 193 the experiment scampering around the floors to escape the electric current, but every once in a while they would accidentally hit the lever and turn off the current. Eventually, they learned to associate pushing the lever with the removal of the unpleasant stimulus (the mild electric shock). After several trials, the rats would push the lever immediately, reducing their shock time. Think about some examples of negative reinforcement in your own life. If you try to drive your car without your seat belt, does your car make an annoying beeping sound? If so, the automakers have employed negative reinforcement to increase your use of seat belts. The beeping provides an annoyance (an unpleasant stimulus) that prompts most people to put on their seat belts (the desired behavior increases) to make the beeping stop, and thus remove the unpleasant stimulus. The next time you get in the car, you will be faster to put on your seat belt, because you have learned that buckling up immediately makes the annoying sound go away. For another example of negative reinforcement, picture a dog that constantly begs for treats. The begging (an unpleasant stimulus) stops the moment the dog is given a treat, a pattern that increases your treat-giving behavior. The problem is that the dog’s begging behavior is being strengthened through positive reinforcement; the dog has learned that the more it begs, the more treats it receives. Notice that with negative reinforcement, the target behaviors increase in order to remove an unwanted condition. Returning to our example of Jeremy Lin, how might a basketball coach use negative reinforcement to increase a behavior? Of course, the coach can’t build an electric grid in the flooring (as Skinner did with his rats) to get his players moving faster. He might, however, start each practice session by whining and complaining (a very annoying stimulus) about how slow the players are moving. But as soon as their level of activity increases, he stops his annoying behavior. The players then learn to avoid the coach’s whining and complaining simply by running faster and working harder at every practice. Thus, the removal of the annoying stimulus (whining and complaining) increases the desired behavior (running faster). Keep in mind that the goal of negative reinforcement is to increase a desired behavior. Try to remember this when you read the section on punishment. LO 10 Distinguish between primary and secondary reinforcers. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY REINFORCERS There are two major categories of reinforcers: primary and secondary. The food with which Skinner rewarded his pigeons and rats is considered a primary reinforcer (innate reinforcer), because it satisfies a biological need. Food, water, and physical contact are considered primary reinforcers (for both animals and people) because they meet essential requirements. Many of the reinforcers shaping human behavior are secondary reinforcers, which means they do not satisfy biological needs but often derive their power from their connection with primary reinforcers. Although money is not a primary reinforcer, we know from experience that it gives us access to primary reinforcers, such as food, a safe place to live, and perhaps even the ability to attract desirable mates. Thus, money is a secondary reinforcer. The list of secondary reinforcers is long and varied, because different people find different things and activities to be reinforcing. Listening to music, washing dishes, taking a ride in your car—these would all be considered secondary reinforcers for people who enjoy doing them. Ready for a tongue twister? A reinforcer is only a reinforcer if the person receiving it finds it reinforcing. In other words, the designation of a reinforcer depends on its ability to increase a target behavior. Secondary reinforcers are evident in everyday social interactions. Think about how your behaviors might change in response to praise from a boss, a pat on the back from a coworker, or even a nod of approval from a friend on Facebook or Instagram. Yes, reinforcers can even exert their effects through the digital channels of social media. Synonyms negative reinforcement omission training secondary reinforcers conditioned reinforcers positive reinforcement The process by which reinforcers are added or presented following a targeted behavior, increasing the likelihood of it occurring again. negative reinforcement The removal of an unpleasant stimulus following a target behavior, which increases the likelihood of it occurring again. primary reinforcer A reinforcer that satisfies a biological need, such as food, water, physical contact; innate reinforcer. secondary reinforcer Reinforcers that do not satisfy biological needs but often gain their power through their association with primary reinforcers. 194 C HAP TE R 5 learning O perant Conditioning SOCIAL MEDIA and psychology The Power of Partial Reinforcement REINFORCEMENT Continuous reinforcement comes in handy for a variety of purposes and is ideal for establishing new behaviors during the acquisition phase. But delivering reinforcers intermittently, or every once in a while, works better for maintaining behaviors. We call this approach partial reinforcement. Returning to the examples listed for continuous reinforcement, we can also imagine partial reinforcement being used: The child gets praise almost every time he does the dishes; a dog gets a treat every third time it comes when called. The reinforcer is not given every time the behavior is observed, only some of the time. Early on, Ivonne received a reinforcer from her training buddies for every workout she increased her mileage. But how might partial reinforcement be used to help a runner increase her mileage? Perhaps instead of hot chocolate on every occasion, the treat could come after every other successful run. Or, a coach might praise the runner’s hard work only some of the time. The amazing thing about partial reinforcement is that it happens to all of us, in an infinite number of settings, and we might never know how many times we have been partially reinforced for any particular behavior. Common to all of these partial reinforcement situations is that the target behavior is exhibited, but the reinforcer is not supplied each time this occurs. The hard work and reinforcement paid off for Ivonne. In 2003 she ran her first marathon—New York City—and has since competed in more than a dozen others. LO 11 PARTIAL REINFORCEMENT EFFECT When Contagious Behaviors Infectious Goodness Standing before a giant red mailbox, London postal worker Imtiyaz Chawan holds a Guinness World Records certificate. Through the Royal Mail Group’s Payroll Giving Scheme, British postal workers donated money to 975 charitable groups, setting a record for the number of charities supported by a payroll giving scheme (Guinness Book of World Records News, 2012, February 6). Charitable giving is the type of positive behavior that can spread through social networks. Many charities are now using social media for fundraising purposes. David Parry/PA Wire For the Love of Running Ivonne runs tethered to her husband, G. John Schmidt. She sets the pace, while he warns her of any changes in terrain, elevation, and direction. When Ivonne started running in 2001, her friends reinforced her with hot chocolate. These days, she doesn’t need sweet treats to keep her coming back. The pleasure she derives from running is reinforcement enough. MICHAEL S. WIRTZ/The Inquirer/Daily News/Philly.com Why do you keep glancing at your Facebook page, and what compels you to check your phone 10 times an hour? All those little tweets and updates you receive are reinforcing. It feels good to be retweeted, and it’s nice to see people “like” your Instagram posts. With its never-ending supply of mini-rewards, social media often sucks away time that would otherwise be devoted to offline relationships and work—a clear drawback. But the reinforcing power of social media can also be harnessed to promote positive behaviors. A study by MIT researcher Damon Centola found that people are more likely to explore healthy behaviors when alerted that others in their social media networks are doing the same. This is especially true for those in “clustered” networks, where people share many of the same contacts. As Centola observed: “People usually require contact with multiple sources of ‘infection’ before being convinced to adopt a behavior” (Centola, 2010, p. 1194). Each of these sources WHY DO YOU CHECK of infection, it seems, provides social reinforcement for the YOUR PHONE 10 positive behavior. Thus, if you want to develop a healthier TIMES AN HOUR? lifestyle, it can’t hurt to surround yourself with online friends who exercise, eat well, and don’t smoke. Now that we have a basic understanding of operant conditioning, let’s take things to the next level and examine its guiding principles. Describe continuous reinforcement and partial reinforcement. A year after graduating from Stanford, Ivonne returned to New York City and began looking for a new activity to get her outside and moving. She found the New York Road Runners Club, which connected her with an organization that supports and trains runners with all types of disabilities, including paraplegia, amputation, and cerebral palsy. Having no running experience (apart from jogging on a treadmill), Ivonne showed up at a practice one Saturday morning in Central Park and ran 2 miles with one of the running club’s guides. The next week she came back for more, and then the next, and the next. Ivonne first started attending practices, her teammates promised to buy her hot chocolate whenever she increased her distance. “Every time they would try to get me to run further, they’d say, ‘We’ll have hot chocolate afterwards!’” Ivonne remembers. “They actually would follow through with their promise!” The hot chocolate was given in a schedule of continuous reinforcement, because the reinforcer was presented every time Ivonne ran a little farther. Continuous reinforcement can be used in a variety of settings: a child getting praise every time he does the dishes; a dog getting a treat every time it comes when called. You get the commonality: reinforcement every time the behavior is produced. CONTINUOUS REINFORCEMENT When 195 PARTIAL Skinner put the pigeons in his experiments on partial reinforcement schedules, they would peck at a target up to 10,000 times without getting food before giving up (Skinner, 1953). According to Skinner, “Nothing of this sort is ever obtained after continuous reinforcement” (p. 99). The same seems to be true with humans. In one study from the mid1950s, researchers observed college students playing slot machines. Some of the slot machines provided continuous reinforcement, delivering pretend coins every time students pulled their levers. Others followed partial reinforcement schedules, dispensing coins only some of the time. After the students played eight rounds, all of the machines stopped giving coins. Without any coins to reinforce them, the students stopped pulling the levers—but not at the same time. Those who had received coins with every lever pull gave up more quickly than did those rewarded intermittently. In other words, lever-pulling behavior was less likely to be extinguished when established through partial reinforcement (Lewis & Duncan, 1956). Psychologists call this phenomenon the partial reinforcement effect: Behaviors take longer to disappear (through the process of extinction) when they have been acquired or maintained through partial, rather than continuous, reinforcement. Remember, partial reinforcement works very well for maintaining behaviors, but not necessarily for establishing behaviors. Imagine how long it would take Skinner’s pigeons to learn the first step in the shaping process (looking at the ball) if they were rewarded for doing so only 1 in 5 times. The birds learn fastest when reinforced every time, but their behavior will persist longer if they are given partial reinforcement thereafter. Here’s another example: Suppose you are housetraining your puppy. The best plan is to start the process with continuous reinforcement (praise the dog every time it “goes” outside), but then shift to partial reinforcement once the desired behavior is established. Hope Springs Eternal Why are slot machines so enticing? The fact that they deliver rewards occasionally and unpredictably makes them irresistible to many gamblers. Slot machines take advantage of the partial reinforcement effect, which states that behaviors are more persistent when reinforced intermittently, rather than continuously. David Sacks/Getty Images Synonym partial reinforcement intermittent reinforcement continuous reinforcement A schedule of reinforcement in which every target behavior is reinforced. partial reinforcement A schedule of reinforcement in which target behaviors are reinforced intermittently, not continuously. partial reinforcement effect The tendency for behaviors acquired through intermittent reinforcement to be more resistant to extinction than those acquired through continuous reinforcement. 196 C HAP TE R 5 learning O perant Conditioning Timing Is Everything: Reinforcement Schedules FIXED-RATIO SCHEDULE In LO 12 Name the schedules of reinforcement and give examples of each. Skinner identified various ways to administer partial reinforcement, or partial reinforcement schedules. As often occurs in scientific research, he stumbled on the idea by chance. Late one Friday afternoon, Skinner realized he was running low on the food pellets he used as reinforcers for his laboratory animals. If he continued rewarding the animals on a continuous basis, the pellets would run out before the end of the weekend. With this in mind, he decided only to reinforce some of the desired behaviors (Skinner, 1956, 1976). The new strategy worked like a charm. The animals kept performing the target behaviors, even though they weren’t given reinforcers every time. Clearly partial reinforcement is effective, but how exactly should it be delivered? Four different reinforcement schedules can be used: fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, fixed-interval, and variable-interval (Figure 5.3). nilovsergey/shutterstock FIGURE 5.3 Schedules of Reinforcement Continuous reinforcement is ideal for establishing new behaviors. But once learned, a behavior is best maintained with partial reinforcement. Partial reinforcement can be delivered according to four different schedules of reinforcement, as shown here. Fixed-Ratio: Reinforcer is given after a predetermined number of desired responses. peck peck peck peck reinforcement peck reinforcement peck peck with food pellet peck with food pellet peck th th on 5 peck on 5 peck peck peck peck peck peck REINFORCEMENT peck REINFORCEMENT reinforcement with food pellet on 5 th peck Variable-Ratio: Reinforcer is given after a certain number of desired responses—and this number peck peck peck reinforcement with food pellet on 3 rd peck REINFORCEMENT peck peck reinforcement peck peck peck with thfood pellet on 8 peck peck peck peck REINFORCEMENT peck peck peck peck reinforcement with food pellet on 4 th peck REINFORCEMENT ENT ENT ENT 40 seconds CEM CEM CEM Fixed-Interval: Reinforcer is given when a desired response occurs after a preestablished interval of time. peck R E I N FO R E I N FO peck R E I NFOR R R peck peck peck Time intervals 40 seconds 40 seconds reinforcement at 40 second intervals (as long as there is at least one peck during the interval) Variable-Interval: Reinforcer is given when a desired response occurs after a certain interval of time, the length of which changes from trial to trial. peck peck 40 seconds reinforcement at variable intervals (as long as there is at least one peck during the interval) R ENT peck R E I N FO CEM 43 seconds R ENT peck R E I N FO CEM 41 seconds ENT Time intervals R CEM peck R E I N FO peck some situations, the best approach to reinforcement is a fixed-ratio schedule. With this arrangement, the subject must exhibit a predetermined number of desired responses or behaviors before a reinforcer is given. A pigeon in a Skinner box may have to peck a spot five times in order to score a delicious pellet (5:1). A third-grade teacher might give students prizes when they pass three multiplication tests (3:1). Generally, the fixed-ratio schedule produces a high response rate, but with a characteristic dip immediately following the reinforcement. Pigeons rest briefly before pecking away at the target again, and students take a short break before studying for another multiplication test. VARIABLE-RATIO SCHEDULE Other times, it is best to use reinforcement that is unpredictable. In a variable-ratio schedule, the number of desired responses or behaviors that must occur before a reinforcer is given changes across trials. (This number is based on an average number of responses to be reinforced.) If the goal is to train a pigeon to peck a spot on a target, a variable-ratio schedule can be used as follows: Trial 1, the pigeon gets a pellet after pecking the spot twice; Trial 2, the pigeon gets a pellet after pecking the spot once; Trial 3, the pigeon gets a pellet after pecking the spot three times; and so on. In the third-grade classroom, the teacher might not tell the students how many tests they will need to pass to get a prize. She may give a prize after two tests, then the next time after seven tests. This variable-ratio schedule tends to produce a high response rate (pecking and studying in our examples) and behaviors that are difficult to extinguish because of the unpredictability of the reinforcement schedule. FIXED-INTERVAL SCHEDULE In REINFORCEMENT changes from trial to trial. 197 some cases, it might be important to focus on the interval of time between reinforcers, as opposed to the number of desired responses. In a fixed-interval schedule, the reinforcer comes after a preestablished interval of time; a reinforcer is given for the first target behavior after that period has elapsed. If a pigeon is on a fixed-interval schedule of 30 seconds, it can peck at the target as often as possible once the interval starts, but it will only get a reinforcer following its first response after the 30 seconds has ended. If the third graders are on a fixed-interval schedule of 1 week, the teacher gives prizes only on Fridays for children who do well on their math quiz that day; it doesn’t matter how they performed on other math quizzes earlier that week. With this schedule, the target behavior tends to increase as each time interval comes to an end. The pigeon pecks the spot more often when the time nears 30 seconds, and the students study harder as Friday approaches. VARIABLE-INTERVAL SCHEDULE In a variable-interval schedule, the length of time between reinforcements is unpredictable. In this schedule, the reinforcer comes after an interval of time goes by, but the length of the interval changes from trial to trial (within a predetermined range based on an average interval length). As with the fixed-interval schedule, reinforcement follows the first target behavior that occurs after the time interval has elapsed. Training a pigeon to peck a spot on a target using a variable-interval schedule might include the following: Trial 1, the pigeon gets a pellet after 41 seconds; Trial 2, the pigeon gets a pellet after 43 seconds; Trial 3, the pigeon gets a pellet after 40 seconds; and so on. In each trial, the pigeon is rewarded for the first response it makes after the interval of time has passed (which varies from trial to trial). The third-grade teacher might think that an average of 4 days should go by between quizzes. So, instead of giving reinforcers every 7 days (that is, always on Friday), she gives quizzes separated by a variable interval. The first quiz might be after a 2-day interval, the next after a 3-day interval, and the students do not know when to expect them. The variable-interval schedule tends to encourage steady patterns of behavior. The pigeon tries its luck pecking a target once every 40 seconds or fixed-ratio schedule A schedule in which the subject must exhibit a predetermined number of desired behaviors before a reinforcer is given. variable-ratio schedule A schedule in which the number of desired behaviors that must occur before a reinforcer is given changes across trials and is based on an average number of behaviors to be reinforced. fixed-interval schedule A schedule in which the reinforcer comes after a preestablished interval of time goes by; the behavior is only reinforced after the given interval is over. variable-interval schedule A schedule in which the reinforcer comes after an interval of time goes by, but the length of the interval changes from trial to trial. learning so, and the students come to school prepared to take a quiz every day (their amount of study holding steady). So far, we have learned about increasing desired behaviors through reinforcement, but not all behaviors are desirable. Let’s turn our attention to techniques used to suppress undesirable behaviors. The Trouble with Punishment In contrast to reinforcement, which makes a behavior more likely to recur, the goal of punishment is to decrease or stop a behavior (Infographic 5.3). Punishment is used to reduce unwanted behaviors by instilling an association between a behavior and some unwanted consequence (for example, between stealing and going to jail, or between misbehaving and a spanking). Punishment isn’t always effective, however; people are often willing to accept unpleasant consequences to get something they really want. Time-Out Sending a child to a corner for a “time-out” is an example of negative punishment because it involves removing something (the privilege to play) in order to decrease an unwanted behavior. Spanking is a positive punishment because it involves the addition of something (a slap on the bottom) to discourage an undesirable behavior. Design Pics/Ron Nickel/ Getty Images punishment The application of a consequence that decreases the likelihood of a behavior recurring. positive punishment The addition of something unpleasant following an unwanted behavior, with the intention of decreasing that behavior. negative punishment The removal of something desirable following an unwanted behavior, with the intention of decreasing that behavior. INFOGRAPHIC 5.3 INFOGRAPHIC 5.3 POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE PUNISHMENT There are two major categories of punishment: positive and negative. With positive punishment, something aversive or disagreeable is applied following an unwanted behavior. For example, getting a ticket for speeding is a positive punishment, the aim of which is to decrease driving over the speed limit. Paying a late fine for overdue library books is a positive punishment, the goal of which is to decrease returning library books past their due date. In basketball, a personal foul (for example, inappropriate physical contact) might result in positive punishment, such as a free throw for the opposing team. Here, the addition of something aversive (the other team getting a wide open shot) is used with the intention of decreasing a behavior (pushing, shoving, and the like). The goal of negative punishment is also to reduce an unwanted behavior, but in this case, it is done by taking away something desirable. A person who drives while inebriated runs the risk of negative punishment, as his driver’s license may be taken away. This loss of driving privileges is a punishment designed to reduce drunken driving. If you never return your library books, you might suffer the negative punishment of losing your borrowing privileges. The goal is to decrease behaviors that lead to lost or stolen library books. What kind of negative punishment might be used to rein in illegal conduct in basketball? Just ask one of Jeremy Lin’s former teammates, superstar Carmelo Anthony, one of many players suspended for participating in a 2006 brawl between the Knicks and the Denver Nuggets. Anthony, a Nuggets player at the time (how ironic that he was later traded to the Knicks), was dealt a 15-game suspension (and no salary for those games not played) for slugging a Knicks player in the face (Lee, 2006, December 19). Anthony’s suspension is an example of negative punishment, because it involves subtracting something desirable (the privilege to compete and his salary for those games) to decrease a behavior (throwing punches on the court). Punishment may be useful for the purposes of basketball, but how does it figure into everyday life? Think about the last time you tried using punishment to reduce unwanted behavior. Perhaps you scolded your puppy for having an accident, or snapped at your housemate for leaving dirty dishes in the sink. If you are a parent or caregiver of a young child, perhaps you have tried to reign in misbehavior with various types of punishment, such as spanking. Learning: Punishment and Reinforcement Behavior: Driving Fast Do you want to increase this behavior? Red sports cars, © lenka - Fotolia.com; Police officer writing a ticket, © Lisa F. Young - Fotolia.com; Flags, © FreeSoulProduction - Fotolia.com; Green Traffic Light, Thinkstock; Red Traffic Light, Thinkstock; Wrench, Thinkstock; Green highway sign isolated, Thinkstock; Speed limit road sign with post and different numbers, © Thomaspajot/ Dreamstime.com; Red flashing light on a white background, © Fotovika/Dreamstime.com; Trophy, Comstock/Thinkstock; Falling money, istockphoto/Thinkstock; Vector design set of racing flags, freesoulproduction/Shutterstock. C HAP TE R 5 YES! It’s Nascar! You have to drive faster than anyone else to win. We will apply a reinforcer to increase the behavior. Negative Reinforcement You don’t like working in the family auto-body shop. Your family says you can work fewer hours if you win the next race. Taking away unwanted work increases the speeding behavior. test yourself Positive Reinforcement You win a trophy and a cash prize for going fast at the race. Adding desirable rewards increases your speeding behavior. NO! We’re not at the racetrack! Speeding is dangerous and against the law. We will apply a punishment to decrease the behavior. Negative Punishment The police officer confiscates your license. Taking away something desirable decreases your speeding behavior. Positive Punishment The police officer gives you a citation. Adding something undesirable decreases your speeding behavior. Which process matches each of the following examples? Choose from positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment. 1. Carlos’ parents grounded him the last time he stayed out past his 4. Gabriel’s assistant had a bad habit of showing up late for work, 2. Jinhee spent an entire week helping an elderly neighbor clean out her 5. During food drives, the basketball team offers to wash your car for free curfew, so tonight he came home right on time. basement after a flood. The local newspaper caught wind of the story and ran it as an inspiring front-page headline. Jinhee enjoyed the attention and decided to organize a neighborhood work group. 3. The trash stinks, so Sheri takes it out. so Gabriel docked his pay. if you donate six items or more to the local homeless shelter. 6. Claire received a stern lecture for texting in class. She doesn’t want to hear that again, so now she turns off her phone when she enters the classroom. Answers 1. negative punishment, 2. positive reinforcement, 3. negative reinforcement, 4. negative punishment, 5. positive reinforcement, 6. positive punishment 198 200 C HAP TE R 5 learning O perant Conditioning CONTROVERSIES Spotlight on Spanking Were you spanked as a child? Would you or do you spank your own children? Statistically speaking, there is a good chance your answer will be yes to both questions. Studies suggest that about two thirds of American parents use corporal (physical) punishment to discipline their young children (Gershoff, 2008; Regalado, Sareen, Inkelas, Wissow, & Halfon, 2004; Zolotor, Theodore, Runyan, Chang, & Laskey, 2011). But is spanking an effective and acceptable means of discipline? There is little doubt that spanking can provide a fast-acting fix: If a child is beating up his brother, a swift slap on his bottom will probably make him stop pronto. But think about the larger lesson the boy learns in the process. TO SPANK OR NOT His parents are trying to teach him not to be aggressive toward his TO SPANK . . . brother, but in doing so, they demonstrate an aggressive behavior (hitting). Children are experts at mimicking adults’ behaviors (see the next section on observational learning), and several studies suggest that spanking is linked to future aggression and other antisocial behaviors (Gershoff, 2010; Taylor, Manganello, Lee, & Rice, 2010). Apart from sending children the message that aggression is okay, corporal punishment may promote serious long-term mental health problems. Harsh physical punishment, which includes spanking, grabbing, and pushing, has been linked to an elevated risk for developing mood, anxiety, and personality disorders (Afifi, Mota, Dasiewicz, MacMillan, & Sareen, 2012). It may also interfere with cognitive development, retarding growth in various parts of the frontal lobes (Tomoda et al., 2009), a region of the brain that processes complex thoughts. One study even found that spanked children score lower on intelligence tests than their nonspanked peers (Straus & Paschall, 2009). Critics argue that studies casting a negative light on spanking are primarily corCONNECTIONS relational, meaning they show only a link—not necessarily a cause-and-effect relationIn Chapter 2, we noted the primary ship—between physical punishment and negative outcomes (Larzelere & Baumrind, roles of the frontal lobes: to organize information processed in other areas 2010). They point to other factors that might explain some of the problems spanked of the brain, orchestrate higher-level children seem to develop. Perhaps these children are aggressive and antisocial to begin cognitive functions, and direct behaviors with (that would explain why they were spanked in the first place), or maybe their associated with personality. Here, we parents are more likely to be abusive, and the abuse (not the spanking) is to blame note that harsh physical punishment (Baumrind, Larzelere, & Cowan, 2002). Spanking, or “striking a child with an open interferes with normal development of the frontal lobes—a good example of hand on the buttocks or extremities with the intention of modifying behavior without the ongoing interaction between nature causing physical injury” (American Academy of Pediatrics, 1998, pp. 725–726), may (physical development of the brain) and be an effective way to modify young children’s behavior, according to some experts nurture (physical punishment). (Baumrind, Larzelere, & Cowan, 2002; Larzelere & Baumrind, 2010). But it must be delivered by a parent whose approach is “warm, responsive, rational, and temperate” (Baumrind, 1996, p. 857). Scholars on both sides make valid points, but the debate is somewhat lopsided, as an increasing number of studies suggest that spanking is ineffective and emotionally damaging (Gershoff & Bitensky, 2008; Smith, 2012; Straus, 2005). LO 13 Explain how punishment differs from negative reinforcement. PUNISHMENT VERSUS NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT Punishment and negative reinforcement are two concepts that students often find difficult to distinguish (Table 5.3; also see Infographic 5.3 on p. 199). Remember that punishment (positive or negative) is designed to decrease the behavior that it follows, whereas Table 5.3 Reinforcement versus Punishment Term Defined Goal Example Positive Reinforcement Addition of a pleasant stimulus following a target behavior Increase desired behavior Students who complete an online course 15 days before the end of semester receive 10 points of extra credit. Negative Reinforcement Removal of an unpleasant stimulus following a target behavior Increase desired behavior Students who have perfect attendance for the semester do not have to take the final exam. Positive Punishment Addition of something unpleasant following an unwanted behavior Decrease undesired behavior Students who are late to class more than two times have to write an extra paper. Negative Punishment Removal of something pleasant following an unwanted behavior Decrease undesired behavior Students late to class on exam day are not allowed to use their notes when taking the exam. The positive and negative forms of reinforcement and punishment are easy to confuse. Above are some concrete definitions, goals, and examples to help you sort them out. reinforcement (positive or negative) aims to increase the behavior. Operant conditioning uses reinforcers (both positive and negative) to increase target behaviors, and punishment to decrease unwanted behaviors. If all the positives and negatives are confusing you, just think in terms of math: Positive always means adding something, and negative means taking it away. Punishment can be positive, which means the addition of something viewed as unpleasant (“Because you made a mess of your room, you have to wash all the dishes!”), or negative, which involves the removal of something viewed as pleasant or valuable (“Because you made a mess of your room, no ice cream for you!”). For basketball players, a positive punishment might be adding more wind sprints to decrease errors on the free throw line. An example of negative punishment might be benching the players for brawling on the court; taking away the players’ court time to decrease their fighting behavior. Apply This Think Positive Reinforcement With all this talk of chickens, basketball players, and triathletes, you may be wondering how operant conditioning applies to you. Just think about the last time you earned a good grade on a test after studying really hard. How did this grade affect your preparation for the next test? If it made you study more, then it served as a positive reinforcer. A little dose of positive reinforcement goes a long way when it comes to increasing productivity. Let’s examine three everyday dilemmas and brainstorm ways we could use positive reinforcers to achieve better outcomes. Problem 1: Your housemate frequently goes to sleep without washing his dinner dishes. Almost every morning, you walk into the kitchen and find a tower of dirty pans and plates sitting in the sink. No matter how much you nag and complain, he simply will not change his ways. Solution: Nagging and complaining are getting you nowhere. Try positive reinforcers instead. Wait until a day your housemate takes care of his dishes and then pour on the praise. You might be pleasantly surprised the next morning. 201 202 C HAP TE R 5 learning CAN O b servational L earning and Cognition Problem 2: Your child is annoying you with her incessant whining. She whines for milk, so you give it to her. She whines for someone to play with, so you play with her. Why does your child continue to whine although you are responding to all her needs? Solution: Here, we have a case in REINFORCEMENT which positive reinforcers are driving the problem. When you STRATEGIES YOU react to your child’s gripes and moans, you are reinforcing them. PUT TO GOOD USE Turn off your ears to the whining. You might even want to say something like, “I can’t hear you when you’re whining. If you ask me in a normal voice, I’ll be more than happy to help.” Then reinforce her more mature behavior by responding attentively. Problem 3: You just trained your puppy to sit. She was cooperating wonderfully until about a week after you stopped rewarding her with dog biscuits. You want her to sit on command, but you can’t keep doling out doggie treats forever. Solution: Once the dog has adopted the desired behavior, begin reinforcing unpredictably. Remember, continuous reinforcement is most effective for establishing behaviors, but a variable schedule (that is, giving treats intermittently) is a good bet if you want to make the behavior stick (Pryor, 2002). Classical and Operant Conditioning: What’s the Difference? FIGURE 5.4 Differences Between Classical and Operant Conditioning CLASSICAL CONDITIONING Involuntary (learner’s response is reflexive) Nature of Behavior Learn to link different stimuli Association Through repeated pairing of stimuli Strengthening Behavior Students sometimes have trouble differentiating classical and operant conditioning (Figure 5.4). After all, both forms of conditioning—classical and operant—involve forming associations. In classical conditioning, the learner links different stimuli; in operant conditioning, the learner connects her behavior to its consequences (reinforcement and punishment). Another key similarity is that the principles of acquisition, stimulus discrimination, stimulus generalization, extinction, and spontaneous recovery apply to both types of conditioning. But there are also key differences between classical and operant conditioning. In classical conditioning, the learned behaviors are involuntary, or reflexive. Ivonne cannot directly control her heart rate any more than Pavlov’s dogs can decide when to salivate. Operant conditioning, on the other hand, concerns voluntary behavior. Jeremy Lin had power over his decision to practice his shot, just as Skinner’s pigeons had control over swatting bowling balls with their beaks. In short, classical conditioning is an involuntary form of learning, whereas operant conditioning requires active effort. Another important distinction is the way in which behaviors are strengthened. In classical conditioning, behavOPERANT CONDITIONING iors become more frequent with repeated pairings of stimuli. The more often Ivonne smells chlorine before swim practice, Voluntary the tighter the association she makes between chlorine and (learner controls swimming. Operant conditioning is also strengthened by response) repeated pairings, but in this case, the connection is between a behavior and its consequences. Reinforcers strengthen Learn to link the behavior; punishment weakens it. The more benefits consequence (reinforcers) Jeremy gains from succeeding in basketball, the with behavior more likely he will keep practicing. Often classical conditioning and operant conditioning Through occur simultaneously. A baby learns that he gets fed when repeated pairing of consequence he cries; getting milk reinforces the crying behavior (operant and behavior conditioning). At the same time, the baby learns to associate 203 milk with the appearance of the bottle. As soon as he sees his mom or dad take the bottle from the refrigerator, he begins salivating in anticipation of gulping it down (classical conditioning). Classical and operant conditioning are not the only ways we learn. There is one major category of learning we have yet to cover. Use this hint to guess what it might be: How did you learn to peel a banana, open an umbrella, and throw a Frisbee? Somebody must have shown you. show what you know 1. According to Thorndike and the , behaviors are more likely to be repeated when they are followed by pleasurable outcomes. 2. A third-grade teacher gives her students prizes for passing math tests. Not only do the students improve their math scores, they also begin studying harder for their spelling tests as a result of this reinforcement schedule. Their increased studying of spelling is an example of: a. classical conditioning. b. an unconditioned response. c. an unconditioned stimulus. d. stimulus generalization. 3. A child disrupts class and the teacher writes her name on the board. For the rest of the week, the child does not act up. to decrease the child’s The teacher used disruptive behaviors. b. negative punishment a. positive punishment c. positive reinforcement d. negative reinforcement 4. Think about a behavior you would like to change (either yours or someone else’s). Devise a schedule of reinforcement using positive and negative reinforcement to change that behavior. Also contemplate how you might use successive approximations. What primary and secondary reinforcers would you use? 5. How do continuous and partial reinforcement differ? Check your answers in Appendix C. Observational Learning and Cognition BASKETBALL IQ Jeremy Lin is not the fastest runner or highest jumper on the planet, and he is certainly not the biggest guy in professional hoops. In the world of the NBA, where the players’ average height is about 6´7˝ and the average weight is 220 pounds, Jeremy is actually somewhat small (NBA.com, 2007, November 20; NBA.com, 2007, November 27). So what is it about this benchwarmerturned-big-shot that makes him so special? Jeremy’s success, we suspect, is largely a result of qualities that are extremely hard to measure, like unstoppable confidence, dogged determination, and a penetrating basketball IQ, or mental mastery of the sport. “There are very few people that have the same basketball IQ,” Coach Diepenbrock explains. “That’s what separates him from other players.” The roots of Jeremy’s hoop smarts reach back to his father’s native country. Growing up in Taiwan, Gie-Ming Lin didn’t have much exposure to basketball, but he was fascinated by what he saw of the sport. When Gie-Ming arrived in America, he fell head over heels in love with basketball, taping NBA games and watching them any chance he got. Lincredible Playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, Jeremy Lin charges past Jerryd Bayless of the Milwaukee Bucks. Jeremy may not be the tallest player in the NBA, but he more than makes up for that in confidence and game smarts. Tannen Maury/EPA/Landov 204 C HAP TE R 5 learning O b servational L earning and Cognition This 5´6˝ engineering student had never picked up a basketball, but he managed to learn the techniques of the game by closely watching the moves of NBA legends like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson (O’Neil, 2009, December 10). Eventually, he tried those moves on the court, and passed them along to Jeremy and his other two sons. Bobo Doll Preschool children in Albert Bandura’s famous Bobo doll experiment performed shocking displays of aggression after seeing violent behaviors modeled by adults. The children were more likely to copy models who were rewarded for their aggressive behavior and less likely to mimic those who were punished (Bandura, 1986). The NBA greats that Gie-Ming studied served as models, demonstrating behaviors that could be observed and imitated. We call this process observational learning, as it results from watching the behavior of others. According to Bandura (1986), this type of learning is more likely to occur when the learner: (1) is paying attention to the model; (2) remembers what she observed (Bahrick, Gogate, & Ruiz, 2002); (3) is capable of performing the behavior she has observed; and (4) is motivated to demonstrate the behavior. Basketball Family Baby Jeremy poses with his father Gie-Ming, a basketball aficionado who learned the game by studying NBA greats like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Larry Bird (O’Neil, 2009, December 10). HANDOUT/Reuters/Landov Synonym observational learning social learning The Power of Observational Learning Think about how observational learning impacts your own life. Speaking English, eating with utensils, and driving a car are all skills you probably picked up in part by watching and mimicking others. Do you ever use slang? Phrases like “gnarley” (cool) from the 1980s, “Wassup” (What is going on?) from the 1990s, and “peeps” (my people, or friends) from the 2000s caught on because people copy what they observe others saying and writing. Consider some of the phrases trending today that 20 years from now people won’t recognize. Observational learning doesn’t necessarily require sight. Let’s return to Ivonne, who competes in triathlons, consisting of 1 mile of swimming, 25 miles of biking, and 6 miles of running. Ivonne performs the swimming and running sections of the triathlon attached to a guide with a tether, and the bike section on a tandem bike with the guide. To fine-tune her swimming technique, she feels her swim coach demonstrate the freestyle stroke. Standing in the water behind him, Ivonne places one hand on his back and the other on his arm while he goes through the motions of a stroke. She feels the angle of his arms as they break the water’s surface, the distance between his fingers as he plows through the water, and the position of his wrist throughout the motion. Then she imitates the movement she observed through her sense of touch. LO 14 S ummarize what Bandura’s classic Bobo doll study teaches us about learning. PLEASE PLAY NICELY WITH YOUR DOLL Just Tandem Triathletes Ivonne (rear) and her guide, Marit Ogin, ride together in the Nickel City Buffalo Triathlon. The guide is responsible for steering, breaking, and communicating to Ivonne when it is time to shift gears or adjust body position for a turn. G. John Schmidt/Courtesy Ivonne Mosquera-Schmidt as observational learning can lead to positive outcomes like sharper basketball and swimming skills, it can also breed undesirable behaviors. The classic Bobo doll experiment conducted by psychologist Albert Bandura and his colleagues revealed just how fast children can adopt aggressive ways they see modeled by adults, as well as exhibit their own novel aggressive responses (Bandura, Ross, & Ross, 1961). In one of Bandura’s studies, 76 preschool children were placed in a room alone with an adult and allowed to play with stickers and prints for making pictures. During their playtime, some of the children were paired with adults who acted aggressively toward a 5-foot-tall inflatable Bobo doll—punching it in the nose, hitting its head with a mallet, kicking it around the room, and yelling phrases such as, “Sock him in the nose” and “Pow!” The other children in the study were paired with adults who played with toys peacefully (Bandura et al., 1961). 205 Courtesy Dr. Albert Bandura At the end of the experiment, all the children were allowed to play with a Bobo doll themselves. Those who had observed adults attacking and shouting were much more likely to do the same. Boys were more likely than girls to mimic physical aggression, especially if they had observed it modeled by men. Boys and girls were about equally likely to imitate verbal aggression (Bandura et al., 1961). Identify the independent variable and dependent variable in the experiment by Bandura and colleagues. What might you change if you were to replicate this experiment? have followed up Bandura’s research with studies investigating how children are influenced by violence they see on television, the Internet, and in movies and video games. The American Academy of Pediatrics sums it up nicely: “Extensive research evidence indicates that media violence can contribute to aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence, nightmares, and fear of being harmed” (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2009, p. 1495). One large study found that children who watched TV programs with violent role models, such as Starsky and Hutch (a detective series from the 1970s that included violence and suspense), were at increased risk when they became adults of physically abusing their spouses and getting into trouble with the law (Huesmann, Moise-Titus, Podolski, & Eron, 2003). A more recent study conducted in New Zealand followed over 1,000 children from as early as birth until they were around 26 years old. The researchers found that the more television the children watched, the more likely they were to show antisocial behaviors as young adults. Interestingly, this association was between antisocial behaviors and excessive television viewing, regardless of the content (Robertson, McAnally, & Hancox, 2013). try this Check your answers in Appendix C. VIOLENCE IN THE MEDIA Psychologists model The individual or character whose behavior is being imitated. observational learning Learning that occurs as a result of watching the behavior of others. 206 C HAP TE R 5 learning Sunny Days The prosocial behaviors demonstrated by Big Bird and Sesame Street friends appear to have a meaningful impact on child viewers. Children have a knack for imitating positive behaviors such as sharing and caring (Cole et al., 2008). AP Photo/Mark Lennihan Whistling Ape Bonnie the orangutan seems to have learned whistling by copying workers at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, DC. Her musical skill is the result of observational learning (Stone, 2009; Wich et al., 2009). Courtesy of Smithsonian National Zoological Park O b servational L earning and Cognition Critics caution, however, that an association between media portrayals and violent behaviors doesn’t mean there is a cause-and-effect relationship (establishing an association is not the same as pinning down a cause). There are other factors related to parenting that could influence both television viewing and aggression (Huesmann et al., 2003). If a parent is emotionally neglectful and places a child in front of the television all day, the child may eventually imitate some of the aggression she sees on TV. At the same time, the child may resent the parent for ignoring her, and this resentment could lead to aggression. But how do you know which of these factors—television exposure or parenting approach—is more important in the development of aggressive tendencies? This is an active area of psychological research, but experts agree that television and other forms of media may influence aggressive tendencies in children (Clemente, Espinosa, & Vidal, 2008; Office of the Surgeon General, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, National Institute of Mental Health, & Center for Mental Health Services, 2001). The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that children should be limited to less than 1–2 hours of total screen time per day (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2001, 2013). Unfortunately, children and their parents have not followed this recommendation. In fact, the average screen time for preschool-age children in the United States has been reported to be as much as 4 hours a day (Tandon, Zhou, Lozano, & Christakis, 2011). Instead of focusing on the number of hours children watch television, some have suggested that we should focus on program content, encouraging families and caregivers to reduce exposure to programs that contain violence and aggression, and to increase the amount of content with prosocial behavior (Christakis et al., 2013; McCarthy, 2013). PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING Here’s the flip side to this issue: Children also have a gift for mimicking positive behaviors. When children watch shows similar to Sesame Street, they receive messages that encourage prosocial behaviors, meaning these programs foster kindness, generosity, and forms of behavior that benefit others. Let’s look more closely at research on the impact of prosocial models. Using scales to measure children’s stereotypes and cultural knowledge before and after they watch TV shows, a group of researchers found evidence that shows like Sesame Street can have a positive influence (Cole, Labin, & del Rocio Galarza, 2008). Based on their review of multiple studies, these researchers made recommendations to increase prosocial behaviors. Children’s shows should have intended messages, include prosocial information about people of other cultures and religions, be relevant to children in terms of culture and environment, and be ageappropriate and contain intentional and direct (unhidden) messages aimed at educating children about people from different backgrounds. Adults can also pick up prosocial messages from media. In a multipart study, researchers exposed adults to prosocial song lyrics (as opposed to neutral lyrics). The first experiment found that listening to prosocial lyrics increased the frequency of prosocial thoughts. Findings from the second experiment indicated that listening to a song with prosocial lyrics increased empathy, or the ability to understand what another person is going through. The third experiment found that listening to a song with prosocial lyrics increased helping behavior. These researchers only looked at the short-term effects, but exposing people continuously to prosocial lyrics may have a lasting impact (Greitemeyer, 2009). 207 When learning occurs through observation, often it is visible. Children watching aggression toward a Bobo doll imitate the behaviors they see, which researchers can witness and document. Not all forms of learning are so obvious. Latent Learning LO 15 Describe latent learning and explain how cognition is involved in learning. Ivonne’s feet pound the streets of Boston. She is among some 20,000 runners competing in the city’s oldest annual 26.2-mile running race, the Boston Marathon. (Ivonne has nabbed first place in the Women’s Visually Impaired Division three times.) She runs with teammates who make sure the path is clear, allowing her to focus on her performance instead of worrying about obstacles. A MAP THAT CANNOT BE SEEN Before a race, Ivonne checks online to see if there is a description of the course or studies a map with her husband or a friend in order to learn the location of important landmarks such as hills, major turns, bridges, railroad tracks, and so on. “Doing this helps me feel that I have an idea of what to expect, and when to expect it,” Ivonne says. The mental layout she creates contributes to her cognitive map, a mental representation of the physical surroundings, and it continues to come together in the race. As Ivonne runs, she hears sounds from all directions—the breathing of other runners, their feet hitting the ground, chatter from the sidelines—and uses these auditory cues to produce a mental map of her surroundings. In fact, we all create these cognitive maps, which provide a spatial representation to help us navigate our environment. These maps are developed through latent learning, a type of learning that occurs without awareness and regardless of reinforcement, and that remains hidden until there is a need to use it. RATS THAT KNOW WHERE TO GO Edward Tolman and his colleague C. H. Honzik demonstrated latent learning in rats in their classic 1930 maze experiment (Figure 5.5 on the next page). The researchers took three groups of rats and let them run free in mazes for several days. One group received food for reaching the goal boxes in their mazes; a second group received no reinforcement; and a third received nothing until the 11th day of the experiment, when they, too, received food for finding the goal box. As you might expect, rats getting the treats from the onset solved the mazes more quickly as the days wore on. Meanwhile, their unrewarded compatriots wandered through the twists and turns, showing only minor improvements from one day to the next. But on Day 11 when the researchers started to give treats to the third group of rats, their behavior changed markedly. After just one round of treats, the rats were scurrying through the mazes and scooping up the food as if they had been rewarded throughout the experiment (Tolman & Honzik, 1930). They had apparently been learning, even when there was no reinforcement for doing so—or in simpler terms, learning just for the sake of learning. We all do this as we acquire cognitive maps of our environments. Without realizing it, we remember locations, objects, and details of our surroundings, and bring this information together in a mental layout (Lynch, 2002). Research suggests that visually impaired people forge cognitive maps without the use of visual information. Instead, they use “compensatory sensorial channels” (hearing and sense of touch, for example) to gather information about their environments (Lahav & Mioduser, 2008). Feel the Map Ivonne’s husband guides her hand over the map of a racecourse. She is beginning to form a cognitive map of the route, one that will continue to crystallize as she races. While running, Ivonne’s ears collect clues about the relative positions of objects and the direction of motion— information that goes into creating a cognitive map. MICHAEL S. WIRTZ/The Inquirer/Daily News/Philly.com prosocial behaviors Actions that are kind, generous, and beneficial to others. cognitive map The mental representation of the layout of a physical space. latent learning Learning that occurs without awareness and regardless of reinforcement, and is not evident until needed. 208 C HAP TE R 5 learning O b servational L earning and Cognition FIGURE 5.5 Latent Learning Source: Adapted from Tolman, 1948 32 Shoot for the Stars 30 Jeremy works with an aspiring basketball player in Taipei, Taiwan. His work with children continues through the Jeremy Lin Foundation, a nonprofit organization devoted to serving young people and their communities. AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying 28 26 24 No reinforcement 22 20 Error rate In a classic experiment, groups of rats learned how to navigate a maze at remarkably different rates. Rats in a group receiving reinforcement from Day 1 (the green line on the graph) initially had the lowest rate of errors and were able to work their way through the maze more quickly than the other groups. But when a group began to receive reinforcement for the first time on Day 11, their error rate dropped immediately. This shows that the rats were learning the basic structure of the maze even when they weren’t being reinforced. 18 16 14 12 Continuous reinforcement 10 8 Reinforcement begins on Day 11 6 4 2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Days You Asked, Ivonne Answers http://qrs.ly/6i3m619 Do you create cognitive maps just when you’re running? 209 This line of research highlights the importance of cognitive processes underlying behavior and suggests that learning can occur in the absence of reinforcement. Because of the focus on cognition, this research approach conflicts with the views of Skinner and some other 20th-century psychologists who adhered to a strict form of behaviorism. Many other studies have challenged Skinner’s views. Wolfgang Köhler’s (1925) research on chimpanzees suggests that animals are capable of thinking through a problem before taking action. He designed an experiment in which chimps were presented with out-of-reach bananas, and showed that the animals were able to plan a variety of banana-fetching strategies, including stacking crates to climb on. Here, the chimps displayed insight, a sudden coming together of awareness of a situation, leading to the solution of a problem (Chapter 7). Today, most psychologists agree that both observable, measurable behaviors and internal cognitive processes such as insight are necessary and complementary elements of learning. Environmental factors have a powerful influence on behavior, as Pavlov, Skinner, and others discovered, but every action can be traced to activity in the brain. Understanding how cognitive processes translate to behaviors remains one of the great challenges facing psychologists. chemotherapy and surgery, and was back on the track within weeks of leaving the hospital. Ivonne is currently preparing for the 2016 Paralympics, which are scheduled to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. What keeps this amazing woman going? Apart from the obvious reasons, such as love of sport, Ivonne derives great satisfaction from bridging the gap between the able-bodied and disabled communities. Blind and sighted athletes have a common appreciation for exercise, and training and racing unite them in a very human way. “We can have the same dreams, the same goals, the same ambitions,” Ivonne says, “and [exercise] gets us working together.” Peace of Mind Ivonne does the triangle pose during a visit to Queenstown, New Zealand. Yoga helps develop the strength and flexibility she needs for racing, and keeps her grounded. G. John Schmidt/Courtesy Ivonne Mosquera-Schmidt IT KEEPS GETTING BETTER Wondering what became of Jeremy Lin following “Linsanity”? After suffering a knee injury in the spring of 2012, Jeremy was out of commission for the remainder of the season with the Knicks. He then signed a deal with the Houston Rockets, had a good run with that team for two seasons, and was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 2014. Jeremy has proven he can hold his own as a point guard in the NBA, and we suspect he will continue stirring up “Linsanity” in the future. Ivonne Mosquera-Schmidt continues to be an unstoppable force. Between 2012 and 2014, she set three American records, running faster than any totally blind woman in the 1,500-meter, the 3,000-meter, and the 5,000-meter distances. She won a gold medal at the 2013 Paratriathlon World Championships, her second gold medal in this competition. In the summer of 2014, Ivonne was diagnosed with a rare type of bladder cancer, a challenge she faced with incredible courage and optimism. She underwent show what you know 1. You want to learn how to play basketball, so you watch videos of Jeremy Lin executing plays. If your game improves as a result, this would be considered an example of: a. observational learning. b. association. c. prosocial behavior. d. your cognitive map. 3. Although Skinner believed that reinforcement is the cause of learning, there is robust evidence that reinforcement is not always necessary. This comes from experiments studying: b. negative reinforcement. a. positive reinforcement. d. stimulus generalization. c. latent learning. 2. Bandura’s Bobo doll study shows us that observationall learning results in a wide variety of learned behaviors. Describe several types of behaviors you have learned by observing a model. Check your answers in Appendix C. learning su m mar y o f concepts summary of concepts LO 2 Explain what Pavlov’s studies teach us about classical conditioning. (p. 176) The dogs in Pavlov’s studies learned to associate various stimuli with the anticipation of food, which resulted in them salivating when the stimuli were introduced. He discovered how such associations are learned, and referred to this process as conditioning. Classical conditioning is the process in which two stimuli become associated; once this association has been established, an originally neutral stimulus is conditioned to elicit an involuntary response. LO 3 Identify the differences between the US, UR, CS, and CR. (p. 178) In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus is something in the environment that does not normally cause a relevant automatic or reflexive response. This neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US) that triggers an unconditioned response (UR). The neutral stimulus thus becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) that the organism has learned to associate with the US. This CS elicits a conditioned response (CR). The initial pairing of a neutral stimulus with a US is called acquisition. LO 4 Recognize and give examples of stimulus generalization and stimulus discrimination. (p. 179) Once an association is forged between a CS and a CR, the learner often responds to similar stimuli as if they are the original CS. This is called stimulus generalization. For example, someone who has been bitten by a small dog and reacts with fear to all dogs, big and small, demonstrates stimulus generalization. Stimulus discrimination is the ability to differentiate between a CS and other stimuli sufficiently different from it. Someone who was bitten by a small dog may be afraid of small dogs, but not large dogs, thus demonstrating stimulus discrimination. oc k fo to st ge Animals and people show biological preparedness, meaning they are predisposed to learn associations that have adaptive value. For example, a conditioned taste aversion is a form of classical conditioning that occurs when an organism learns to associate the taste of a particular food or drink with illness. Avoiding foods that induce sickness increases the odds the organism will survive and reproduce, passing its genes along to the next generation. lla /A Learning is a relatively enduring change in behavior or thinking that results from experiences. Organisms as simple as fish and as complex as humans have the ability to learn. Learning is about creating associations. Sometimes we associate two different stimuli (classical conditioning). Other times we make connections between our behaviors and their consequences (operant conditioning). We can also learn by watching and imitating others (observational learning), creating a link between our behavior and the behavior of others. LO 5 Summarize how classical conditioning is dependent on the biology of the organism. (p. 182) Gu de LO 1 Define learning. (p. 174) LO 9 Identify the differences between positive and negative reinforcement. (p. 192) P 5 C HAP TE R 5 Zo on ar / 210 a t h l e LO 6 Describe the Little Albert study and explain how fear can be learned. (p. 183) t e Positive reinforcement refers to the process of applying reinforcers that increase future occurrences of a targeted behavior. The fish treats that Thorndike gave his cats are examples of positive reinforcers (they increased the likelihood of the cats opening the latch). Behaviors can also increase in response to negative reinforcement through the process of taking away (or removing) something unpleasant. Putting on a seat belt in a car to stop an annoying beep is an example of negative reinforcement (it increases the likelihood of wearing a seat belt). Both positive and negative reinforcement increase desired behaviors. LO 10 Distinguish between primary and secondary reinforcers. (p. 193) The case study of Little Albert illustrates the conditioned emotional response, an emotional reaction (fear in Little Albert’s case) acquired via classical conditioning. When Little Albert heard a loud bang, this was a US that elicited a fear response (the UR). Through conditioning, the sight of a rat became paired with the loud noise and went from being a neutral stimulus to a CS. Little Albert’s fear of the rat became a CR. There are two major categories of reinforcers. Primary reinforcers satisfy biological needs. Food, water, and physical contact are considered primary reinforcers. Secondary reinforcers do not satisfy biological needs, but often derive their power from their connection with primary reinforcers. Money is an example of a secondary reinforcer; we know from experience that it gives us access to primary reinforcers, such as food, a safe place to live, and perhaps even the ability to attract desirable mates. LO 7 Describe Thorndike’s law of effect. (p. 187) LO 11 Describe continuous reinforcement and partial rein- Thorndike’s law of effect was important in the development of operant conditioning, a type of learning in which people or animals come to associate their voluntary actions with consequences. The law of effect states that if a behavior is followed by a pleasurable outcome, that behavior is more likely to reoccur. LO 8 Explain shaping and the method of successive approximations. (p. 188) Building on Thorndike’s law of effect and Watson’s behaviorism, Skinner used reinforcers to guide behavior to the acquisition of a desired complex behavior, a process called shaping. Successive approximations is a method of shaping that uses reinforcers to condition a series of small steps that gradually approach a target behavior. Animal behavior can be shaped using successive approximations, but instinct can interfere with the process. This instinctive drift is the tendency for animals to revert to instinctual behaviors after a behavior pattern has been learned. forcement. (p. 194) Reinforcers can be delivered on a constant basis (continuous reinforcement) or intermittently (partial reinforcement). Continuous reinforcement is generally more effective for establishing a behavior, whereas learning through partial reinforcement is more resistant to extinction (the partial reinforcement effect) and useful for maintaining behavior. LO 12 Name the schedules of reinforcement and give examples of each. (p. 196) In a fixed-ratio schedule, reinforcement follows a predetermined number of desired responses or behaviors. In a variable-ratio schedule, the number of desired responses or behaviors that must occur before a reinforcer is given changes across trials and is based on an average number of responses to be reinforced. In a fixed-interval schedule, the reinforcer comes after a preestablished interval of time goes by; the response or behavior is only reinforced after the given interval passes. In a variable-interval schedule, the reinforcement comes after an interval of time passes, but the length of the interval changes from trial to trial. The lengths of these intervals are within a predetermined range based on a desired average interval length. LO 13 Explain how punishment differs from negative reinforcement. (p. 200) In contrast to reinforcement, which makes a behavior more likely to recur, the goal of punishment is to decrease a behavior. Negative reinforcement differs from punishment because it strengthens a behavior that it follows by removing something aversive or disagreeable. Punishment decreases a behavior by instilling an association between a behavior and some unwanted consequence (for example, between stealing and going to jail, or between misbehaving and a spanking). LO 14 Summarize what Bandura’s classic Bobo doll study teaches us about learning. (p. 204) Observational learning can occur when we watch a model demonstrate a behavior. Albert Bandura’s classic Bobo doll experiment showed that children readily imitate aggression when they see it modeled by adults. Studies suggest that children and adults may be inclined to mimic aggressive behaviors seen in TV shows, movies, video games, and on the Internet. Observation of prosocial behaviors, on the other hand, can encourage kindness, generosity, and forms of behavior that benefit others. LO 15 Describe latent learning and explain how cognition is involved in learning. (p. 207) Learning can occur without reinforcement. Edward Tolman showed that rats could learn to navigate mazes even when given no rewards. Their learning only became apparent when it was needed (latent learning). The rats were learning without reinforcement, just for the sake of learning. This cognitive approach reminds us that measurable behaviors and cognitive processes are necessary and complementary elements in the study of learning. 211 212 C HAP TE R 5 learning su m mar y o f concepts key terms acquisition, p. 178 adaptive value, p. 182 behaviorism, p. 188 biological preparedness, p. 182 classical conditioning, p. 178 cognitive map, p. 207 conditioned emotional response, p. 183 conditioned response (CR), p. 178 conditioned stimulus (CS), p. 178 conditioned taste aversion, p. 182 continuous reinforcement, p. 194 extinction, p. 179 TEST PREP fixed-interval schedule, p. 197 fixed-ratio schedule, p. 197 habituation, p. 174 higher order conditioning, p. 180 instinctive drift, p. 189 latent learning, p. 207 law of effect, p. 188 learning, p. 174 model, p. 204 negative punishment, p. 198 negative reinforcement, p. 192 neutral stimulus (NS), p. 178 observational learning, p. 204 operant conditioning, p. 187 partial reinforcement, p. 195 partial reinforcement effect, p. 195 positive punishment, p. 198 positive reinforcement, p. 192 primary reinforcer, p. 193 prosocial behaviors, p. 206 punishment, p. 198 reinforcement, p. 188 reinforcers, p. 188 secondary reinforcer, p. 193 shaping, p. 188 spontaneous recovery, p. 180 stimulus, p. 174 stimulus discrimination, p. 179 stimulus generalization, p. 179 successive approximations, p. 189 unconditioned response (UR), p. 178 unconditioned stimulus (US), p. 178 variable-interval schedule, p. 197 variable-ratio schedule, p. 197 are you ready? 1. One basic form of learning occurs during the process of , which is evident when an organism does not respond as strongly or as often to an event following multiple exposures to it. a. insight b. habituation c. classical conditioning d. operant conditioning 5. Your first love wore a musky-scented perfume, and your heart raced every time he or she appeared. Even now when you smell that scent, your heart speeds up, suggesting the scent is a(n) a. unconditioned stimulus. b. conditioned stimulus. c. conditioned response. d. unconditioned response. 2. Even trout can learn through operant conditioning, as evidenced by their a. innate urge to get food. b. reaction to an unconditioned stimulus. c. ability to press a pendulum to get food. d. reactions to predators. 6. Avoiding foods that induce sickness has This taste aversion helps organisms survive. a. adaptive value b. stimulus generalization c. stimulus discrimination d. higher order conditioning 3. The behaviors learned with classical conditioning are , whereas those learned with operant condi . tioning are a. involuntary; voluntary b. voluntary; involuntary c. voluntary; innate d. involuntary; innate 7. Little Albert was an 11-month-old baby who originally had no fear of rats. In an experiment conducted by Watson and Rayner, he was classically conditioned to fear white rats through the pairing of a loud noise with exposure to a rat. His resulting fear is an example of a(n) a. unconditioned stimulus. b. operant conditioning. c. conditioned emotional response. d. biological preparedness. 4. Every time you open the pantry where dog food is stored, your dog starts to salivate. His reaction is a(n) a. unconditioned response. b. conditioned response. c. stimulus discrimination. d. reaction based on observational learning. 8. . indicates that if a behavior is followed by a pleasurable outcome, it likely will be repeated. a. Latent learning b. Classical conditioning c. Biological preparedness d. The law of effect 9. Which of the following is an example of negative reinforcement? a. working hard to get an A on a paper b.a child getting more computer time when he finishes his homework c.a dog whining in the morning, leading an owner to wake up and take it outside d.getting a speeding ticket and then not exceeding the speed limit afterward 10. All your friends tell you that you look fabulous in your new jeans, so you start wearing them all the time. This is an example of a. positive reinforcement. b. negative reinforcement. c. positive punishment. d. negative punishment. 11. A child is reprimanded for misbehaving, but then she seems to misbehave even more! This indicates that reprimanding her was a. negative punishment. b. positive reinforcement. c. positive punishment. d. an unconditioned response. 12. In Bandura’s Bobo doll study, children who saw an adult attacking and shouting at the doll: a. were more likely to display aggressive behavior. b. were less likely to display aggressive behavior. c. did not play with the Bobo doll at all. d.began to cry when they saw the adult acting aggressively. 13. According to research, children who watch TV programs with violent role models are: a. more likely to have parents with legal troubles. b. less likely to get in trouble with the law as adults. c.at decreased risk of abusing their spouses when they become adults. d.at increased risk of abusing their spouses when they become adults. 14. Rats allowed to explore a maze, without getting reinforcers until the 11th day of the experiment, subsequently behaved in the maze as if they had been given reinforcers throughout the entire experiment. Their behavior is evidence of a. latent learning. b. observational learning. c. classical conditioning. d. operant conditioning. 15. Wolfgang Köhler’s research on chimpanzees suggests that animals are capable of thinking through a problem before taking action, and having a sudden coming together of awareness of a situation, leading to the solution of a problem. This is called: a. observational learning. b. insight. c. modeling. d. higher order conditioning. 16. What is the difference between stimulus generalization and stimulus discrimination? 17. Describe an example of how you have used shaping and partial reinforcement to change your behavior. Which schedule of reinforcement do you think you were using? 18. What is the difference between primary reinforcers and secondary reinforcers? Give an example of each and explain how they might be used to change a behavior. 19. How are punishment and negative reinforcement different? Give examples of negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment and explain how they aim to change behavior. 20. Some studies show that watching violent films is associated with violent behaviors. Why are such studies unable to show a cause-and-effect relationship between a film’s content and viewers’ behavior? CHECK YOUR ANSWERS IN APPENDIX C. Get personalized practice by logging into LaunchPad at http://www.worthpublishers.com/launchpad/Licht to take the LearningCurve adaptive quizzes for Chapter 5. 213